IGCSE Physics is the qualification usually taken by home-ed students, as GCSE involves lengthy classroom controlled assessment and exam centres will not normally accommodate this for external candidates. Edexcel and CIE both offer an International GCSE (IGCSE) Physics, and AQA offer their Certificate, which is an IGCSE with a different title. The Edexcel and CIE IGCSE Physics specifications are virtually identical - on p5 of theEdexcel IGCSE Physics Teacher's Guide, there is a table showing how the syllabus compares to the CIE syllabus. Edexcel includes a section on Astronomy, which CIE does not, whereas CIE includes more on Lenses and a few other minor differences. This means you can use resources intended for either, and could also use past papers from either specification for practice.
Edexcel IGCSE / Certificate Physics
The current specification is 4PH0 for the IGCSE and KPH0 for the Edexcel Certificate. They share the same syllabus and exam papers, and it does not matter which you choose as a private candidate. See the IGCSEs page for more discussion of the differences between the Certificate and the IGCSE.
There are two papers. The first is 4PH0/1P, a 2-hour paper also taken by candidates for Double Science (4SC0), and 4PH0/2P, which is 1 hour long and is only taken by single IGCSE Physics candidates.
This spec only came into effect in 2011, so there aren't many past papers out there. The exam board dates specifications from the year of first teaching, which is two years before the first examination. Thus the 2009 specification was first examined in June 2011. However, the specification underwent minor changes the following year
You can download the June 2011 paper, mark scheme and report from the Edexcel IGCSE Physics from 2009 page.
Subsequent papers, mark schemes and reports are on the Edexcel IGCSE Physics from 2011 page.
To be clear on the up-to-date syllabus you will also need to look at the Mapping Document on that page, which explains the minor changes taking effect in exams from June 2013.
The previous Edexcel specification for IGCSE Physics is 4420. Most of the material is similar so past papers are still useful for practice. You can download a collection of IGCSE Physics 4420 past papers.
Textbooks for Edexcel Physics IGCSE
Edexcel IGCSE Physics Student Book by Johnson, Woolley and Arnold. Standard student textbook for the course which contains all material needed to cover the syllabus, plus plenty of practice exercises. You can download answers to the exercises; usually these are provided by the publisher either online or on the accompanying CD, so that teachers can choose whether to provide them to students or not. Note that there were several errors in the first edition of this book. You can download the publisher's amendments and check whether they have been updated in your edition.
Edexcel Teacher Support Materials - the Teacher's Guide and Scheme of Work on the qualification page contain some helpful material, including advice on practical work.
The Scheme of Work is basically a free complete course, listing every topic in the syllabus, and referring you to the correct section of the textbook plus linking to quality videos and animations online and making suggestions for practical work and additional activities File:9780007450053 IGCSE Edexcel Physics Student Book Answers.pdf Collins Edexcel International GCSE Physics Student Book by Chris Sunley et al. Has been well received by home-ed families. The answers are not provided with the book, but the publishers will email them to home-ed families and a copy has been shared here for our use (please click on the PDF logo to the right to download).
Hodder Edexcel IGCSE Physics Student Book - no reviews from the group as yet, but it is specific to the syllabus so should do the job. Please check to see if answers can be obtained as often Hodder do not supply them with textbooks as standard, but will usually send them to parents if you ask.
Hodder Edexcel IGCSE Physics practice book - does not come with answers, but a member of the HE Exams Group obtained them from Hodder and you can download the Hodder Physics Practice book answers here.
As the syllabus is extremely similar to CIE's, you could use a textbook intended for CIE but then check the syllabus for the additional material. See the Teacher's Guide p5.
Ben Ryder's YouTube Videos - specifically for Edexcel IGCSE Physics, although his CIE IGCSE Physics videos would also be useful.
Past papers
June 2011 paper, mark scheme and report are on the Edexcel IGCSE Physics from 2009 page.
Subsequent papers, mark schemes and reports are on the Edexcel IGCSE Physics from 2011 page.
The previous Edexcel specification for IGCSE Physics is 4420. Most of the material is similar so past papers are still useful for practice. You can download a collection of IGCSE Physics 4420 past papers.
As with all exam boards , the most recent past paper is kept as secure download only so that exam centres can use it for mocks. This is important for schools as, if a student is unable to complete their exams due to illness, their mock result may be used to contribute towards their grade in some circumstances. Therefore the exam boards will not release the secure download logins to parents. However, you can usually obtain the most recent past papers via this Wiki's 'Where can I find Past Exam Papers?' section; generally a complete set of Edexcel IGCSE papers is uploaded soon after it becomes available to exam centres.
Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Physics
Cambridge IGCSE Physics 0625 - specification etc. on CIE website.
The specification number is 0625.
Dedicated Course Books:
Collins Cambridge IGCSE - Cambridge IGCSE Physics Student Book, by Chris Sunley, Sue Kearsey and Andrew Briggs - has been recommended by members of the HE Exams group
Cambridge IGCSE Physics Coursebook with CD-ROM, by David Sang - newer book, no reviews on group as yet, but looks promising.
Ben Ryder has a series of YouTube videos for the CIE Physics course. These are very very good and specifically for the CIE Specification. They are also suitable for Edexcel and there is a video of the content in the CIE course which is not in the Edexcel. Ryder also has A level videos and videos on exam technique
There is very little difference between the topics covered in CIE and Edexcel IGCSE Physics; on p5 of the Edexcel IGCSE Physics Teacher's Guide, there is a table showing how the syllabus compares to the CIE syllabus. This means you can use resources for Edexcel IGCSE physics to prepare for CIE, but do check those minor differences.
AQA Level 1/2 Certificate in Physics
This is a new specification available to private candidates from June 2013 - 2 papers
Resources
Ben Ryder Physics YouTube collection of physics revision videos, tailored for each exam board.
Chris Gozzard Physics Videos - YouTube collection of physics revision videos for IGCSE and A-level. Cheerful voice!
iGCSE Science Courses - Graham Bray is a Director of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) at a large comprehensive school in East Sussex. He initially prepared a set of video courses for a local home ed student with dyslexia who was struggling with reading textbooks. He 'teaches' the whole syllabus in a series of c15minute videos of himself talking through a set of powerpoint animated slides. He now offers 'talking papers' with model answers, lesson plans and checklists. Videos cover each of the 3 sciences and CIE and Edexcel Boards.
Free IGCSE - GCSE Physics lessons from Mrs Haroony - diagrams and pictures good, though electronic reading voice not to everyone's taste.
Home-ed practicals for IGCSE Physics - one family's notes on experiments which can easily be carried out at home.
Sam Martell's Physics IGCSE course - correspondence course from home-ed parent.
LearnersCloud - subscription to educational videos sorted by curriculum. Free trial available. Short videos to introduce each topic, so you could watch the video before working through your textbook chapter.
Grade Gorilla - highly recommended by a home-ed physics tutor.