How to get an A* in IGCSE Physics: the complete system

First: understand what the paper rewards

Mark schemes explain the scientific ideas and skills an answer needs to demonstrate. Precise terms matter, but copying keywords without correct reasoning does not earn the mark. Cambridge marking guidance also allows appropriate alternative wording: the goal is clear physics that answers the question.

Use the current syllabus to check coverage, then study questions and their mark schemes together to see how that knowledge is assessed. Practise unfamiliar contexts as well as familiar question types.

Use condensed notes alongside the syllabus and textbook

Condensed notes help you see a topic at a glance. Keep the textbook for explanations you do not yet understand, and use the current specification as a coverage checklist. A short summary works best after the underlying ideas are secure.

If a topic is in your current syllabus, include it in your revision even when it has not appeared in the past papers you have seen. Past papers are a sample of assessment, not a limit on what can be examined.

Memorize the equations cold — all of them

The required equations and what is supplied in the exam depend on your board, route and exam year. Learn the meaning and units of each quantity, practise rearrangement and know when each relationship applies. Recall practice is useful, but using the right equation is as important as remembering it.

Train Paper 6 as its own subject

If your Cambridge entry includes Paper 6, give practical skills their own revision time. Practise variables, measurement, graphs, uncertainty and evaluation. These tasks require experimental understanding as well as clear writing. Edexcel students should practise the practical questions within their own board’s written papers.

Do past papers the correct way

Not as mock exams first — as lessons. Do a paper openly with the mark scheme beside you, and study the gap between what you would have written and what earns the mark. Only after the mark-scheme language is familiar should you switch to timed conditions.

In my course this is systematized: annotated marking schemes across 200+ papers, showing the trigger words examiners reward. Students who train this way report the exam feeling like something they have already sat.

The A* is not written on exam day. It is written in the six weeks of papers before it.

The rhythm that makes it stick

Regular live teaching, homework after each session and practice exams throughout the course help reveal gaps early. Use that feedback to revisit difficult ideas and test your progress on fresh questions. The student-results page includes examples of outcomes and feedback from the course.