Career Launcher UAE offers IGCSE chemistry tuition for Cambridge 0620 and 0971, Pearson Edexcel 4CH1 and OxfordAQA 9202, as a separate science or within Combined Science, in Dubai and Sharjah, from centres in Bur Dubai, Al Nahda 2 and Al Qasimia, and online.
Lessons follow the syllabus your school enters you for, including its practical paper, and use that board’s past papers and mark schemes. Classes run as batch classes, small groups or one to one.
THE SYLLABUS, BOARD BY BOARD
IGCSE Chemistry: the papers you will sit.
Schools in the UAE enter IGCSE chemistry with Cambridge (0620, or 0971, the same course graded 9 to 1, which Cambridge offers to UAE schools), Pearson Edexcel (4CH1) or OxfordAQA (9202). Combined and Double Award Science (Cambridge 0653 and 0654, Edexcel 4SD0, OxfordAQA 9204) cover much of the same chemistry.
Cambridge
Cambridge IGCSE Chemistry (0620)
Grades
A* to G. Cambridge IGCSE (9–1) Chemistry, 0971, is the same course and papers graded 9 to 1.
Tiers
Core (Papers 1 and 3, grades C to G) or Extended (Papers 2 and 4, grades A* to G), plus one practical paper for everyone.
Exams
June and November. A March series is for schools in India only.
Practical skills
Paper 5, a practical test in a laboratory, or Paper 6, a written Alternative to Practical: from rates and salt preparation to titrations and identifying ions and gases.
Paper 1 or 2 (Multiple Choice)45 minutes, 40 marks, 30%40 four-option questions, Core or Extended.
Paper 3 or 4 (Theory)1 hour 15 minutes, 80 marks, 50%Short-answer and structured questions, Core or Extended.
Paper 5 (Practical Test)1 hour 15 minutes, 40 marks, 20%Experiments in a laboratory.
Paper 6 (Alternative to Practical)1 hour, 40 marks, 20%Written questions on experiments, in place of Paper 5.
A Periodic Table is printed in every paper, with the volume of one mole of gas (24 dm³ at room temperature and pressure). Notes for identifying ions and gases come with the practical papers. Cambridge’s next syllabus, for 2029, makes no changes that affect teaching.
States of matter: solids, liquids and gases; diffusion
Atoms, elements and compounds: elements, compounds and mixtures; atomic structure and the Periodic Table; isotopes; ions and ionic bonds; simple molecules and covalent bonds; giant covalent structures; metallic bonding
Stoichiometry: formulae; relative masses of atoms and molecules; the mole and the Avogadro constant
Chemical energetics: exothermic and endothermic reactions
Chemical reactions: physical and chemical changes; rate of reaction; reversible reactions and equilibrium; redox
Acids, bases and salts: the properties of acids and bases; oxides; preparation of salts
The Periodic Table: arrangement of elements; Group I; Group VII; transition elements; noble gases
Metals: properties; uses; alloys; the reactivity series; corrosion; extraction
Chemistry of the environment: water; fertilisers; air quality and climate
Organic chemistry: formulae, functional groups and terminology; naming organic compounds; fuels; alkanes; alkenes; alcohols; carboxylic acids; polymers
Experimental techniques and chemical analysis: experimental design; acid-base titrations; chromatography; separation and purification; identification of ions and gases
Edexcel 4CH1 syllabus
Principles of chemistry: states of matter, atomic structure, the Periodic Table, formulae and calculations, bonding and electrolysis
Inorganic chemistry: Groups 1 and 7, gases in the atmosphere, the reactivity series, metals, acids, alkalis and salts, chemical tests
Physical chemistry: energetics, rates of reaction, reversible reactions and equilibria
Atomic structure and the periodic table: solids, liquids and gases; a simple model of the atom; the Periodic Table
Structure, bonding and the properties of matter: ionic, covalent and metallic bonds; how bonding and structure relate to properties; structure and bonding of carbon; nanoparticles
Chemical changes: metals and the reactivity series; metal carbonates; electrolysis
Chemical analysis: purity and chromatography; identification of common gases; identification of ions
Acids, bases and salts: the properties of acids and bases; preparation of salts
Quantitative chemistry: conservation of mass and chemical equations; amount of substance and masses; the mole; molar concentrations
Trends within the periodic table: group properties; transition metals
The rate and extent of chemical change: rate of reaction; factors affecting equilibrium; production of ammonia and sulfuric acid; redox reactions
Energy changes: exothermic and endothermic reactions; calculating and explaining energy change; chemical cells and fuel cells
Organic chemistry: crude oil and hydrocarbons; useful substances from crude oil; polymers; alcohols; carboxylic acids; esters
WHERE MARKS ARE LOST
What the examiners keep pointing out.
From the boards’ own reports on recent exams, in our words. These are the points lessons and practice papers are built around.
Symbols and formulae. Many wrote element symbols with the wrong capital or small letter, though the Periodic Table is in the paper, and put charges into formulae, such as NaF₂ for sodium fluoride. A formula given where a name was asked for also lost the mark. Cambridge 0620 examiner report, June 2024
“Free” electrons. Conductivity answers need the electrons or ions to be mobile or moving. “Free” electrons or a “sea of electrons” on its own earned nothing, and moving ions were often confused with moving electrons. Cambridge 0620 examiner report, June 2024
Comparing structures. Melting-point answers did not compare the two substances or name the structure, mixed up terms such as “ionic bonds between atoms”, and treated covalent bonds as weak. Cambridge 0620 examiner report, June 2024
Organic names and one answer only. Names must show where the functional group is: but-1-ene, not butene. Displayed formulae need every bond, including O–H. A second answer can cancel a correct first one. Cambridge 0620 examiner report, June 2024
The words examiners want in practical work. “Gas given off” was not accepted where effervescence or bubbles was wanted, and a solid forming is a precipitate. Universal indicator is not suitable for a titration: it has no sharp end-point. Cambridge 0620 examiner report, June 2024
Intermolecular forces in the wrong place. Structure and bonding answers lost marks for using intermolecular forces where they do not apply, including in magnesium chloride, which is ionic. Pearson 4CH1 examiner report, June 2025
Evaluating an experiment. Suggested improvements lacked detail or ignored which way an error would push the result, and control variables were not identified. Pearson 4CH1 examiner report, June 2025
HOW LESSONS WORK
Start from the gap. Build to the exam.
Start from the syllabus code. The first conversation takes the board, the code, the tier and a recent test or mock, so lessons start from where marks are actually going.
Teach the topic, then the question. Each topic is taught for understanding, then practised on the board’s own past papers and marked against its mark scheme.
Mocks, then the exam. Timed papers and mock review in the run-up to the exams, so method, wording and pace hold up on the day.
TAKING GCSE INSTEAD?
GCSE Chemistry.
UK GCSE Chemistry is a separate qualification. AQA 8462 and Pearson Edexcel 1CH0 each have two papers of 1 hour 45 minutes and 100 marks at Foundation (grades 5 to 1) or Higher (9 to 4), sat in May or June, with required practicals tested in the papers. Tell us the board, and lessons follow that specification.
WHERE TO FIND US
IGCSE chemistry tuition in Dubai and Sharjah.
Three centres, and online classes for students who live further away. Contact the closest centre and the team will confirm where and how IGCSE chemistry is taught for your board.
Is the Periodic Table given in the IGCSE chemistry exam?
Yes. Cambridge 0620 prints the Periodic Table in each paper, with the volume of a mole of gas at room temperature and pressure, and Pearson Edexcel 4CH1 prints it in the paper too. Symbols still have to be copied exactly: examiners mark down a symbol with the wrong capital letter.
Should my child take Core or Extended IGCSE chemistry?
On Cambridge 0620, Core leads to grades C to G and Extended to A* to G, so anyone aiming at a C or above should take Extended. Edexcel 4CH1 and OxfordAQA 9202 are not tiered: everyone sits the same papers.
What do examiners say students get wrong in IGCSE chemistry?
Recent reports point to symbols and formulae, explaining conductivity with mobile electrons or ions, comparing structures and bonding, naming organic compounds precisely, and evaluating practical work. Each is summed up on this page with the report it comes from.
What is the difference between 0620 and 0971?
They are the same Cambridge IGCSE Chemistry course with the same papers. 0620 is graded A* to G and 0971 is graded 9 to 1, and Cambridge offers 0971 to schools in the UAE.
Is IGCSE chemistry tuition at a centre or online?
Both. Classes run at our centres in Bur Dubai, Al Nahda 2 and Al Qasimia, Sharjah, and online, as batch classes, small groups or one to one. The team confirms the format, the tutor and the timings before you enrol.
Ideally early in Year 10, when the two-year course begins, and at the latest once the Year 11 mocks show where marks are being lost. An early start leaves time to fix gaps in core topics rather than cramming past papers in the spring.
