Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Geography (4GE1): syllabus, papers and marking

Short answers marked point by point; the levels questions marked against the descriptor, with fieldwork answers checked against the right enquiry.

Specification Issue 4 (February 2026), first teaching 2017 · June and November series · grades 9–1

IGCSE Geography: where the marks go

Edexcel International GCSE Geography (4GE1) is two papers: Paper 1 Physical Geography (1 h 10 min, 70 marks) on rivers, coasts and hazardous environments, and Paper 2 Human Geography (1 h 45 min, 105 marks) on economic activity and energy, rural and urban environments, fieldwork and global issues. Both mix multiple-choice, short answers, data-response and levels-marked questions. Pearson’s reports say the three-mark questions are the most demanding because candidates stop after one undeveloped point, and that candidates describe a resource when the question asks them to analyse it.

Our papers are original, with figures, tables and case-study material written for each question. Marking returns the mark for each point and the level for the extended answers, with the descriptor quoted.

How we mark a real script

Paper structure and what we mark

PaperTimeMarksWeightQuestions
Paper 1 — Physical Geography1 h 10 min7040%Section A two from three questions (river, coastal, hazardous environments); Section B one fieldwork question from three; multiple-choice, short-answer, data-response and open-ended questions
Paper 2 — Human Geography1 h 45 min10560%Section A two from three (economic activity and energy, rural, urban); Section B one fieldwork question from three; Section C one global-issues question from three

Syllabus outline

  1. Paper 1: river environments, coastal environments, hazardous environments, with fieldwork from one topic
  2. Paper 2: economic activity and energy, rural environments, urban environments, with fieldwork from one topic
  3. Paper 2 global issues: fragile environments and climate change, globalisation and migration, development and human welfare
  4. Skills: map and graph interpretation, calculation of a mean or percentage, data presentation, evaluating an enquiry

How each paper is marked here

Where IGCSE Geography candidates lose marks

  1. Three-mark explanations with one idea — A point that is identified but not developed through to its effect stops at one mark.
  2. Strategy described rather than explained — Naming a sea wall or a flood defence and describing it earns one mark; saying how it reduces the risk earns the rest.
  3. Cause written when impact is asked, or the reverse — A hazard question that needs the cause of an event but receives the effects scores nothing.
  4. Analyse questions that stay descriptive — Extended answers lose levels when they narrate the resource without a judgement.
  5. Fieldwork answered for the wrong enquiry — Writing about a coastal enquiry in the river or hazard question limits the marks to what fits the question.

Sample papers, mark schemes and marked reports for IGCSE Geography

See a real handwritten script marked by eight examiners at admitportfolio.com/examiners.

Questions teachers ask

Is fieldwork included?
Yes. Each paper has a fieldwork section that asks about an enquiry the student has done, and answers are checked against the right enquiry topic.
Are the figures original?
Yes. Every map, graph and photograph description is made for the paper.
Is there a unitised version?
Pearson also offers a unitised version of the same content. This page follows the linear 4GE1 papers.
Is this official Pearson Edexcel marking?
No. Pearson Edexcel International marks the real exam. This is examiner-style marking of mocks and homework for IGCSE Geography. Only you see the marking, and you decide what reaches the student.
Do you reproduce past-paper questions?
No. Every 4GE1 paper here is original and written to the specification issue 4 (february 2026), first teaching 2017, in the same structure as the real papers shown above.
Which papers are marked?
None yet are marked question by question. Practical exams sat at the centre are not marked here.
How is the next paper chosen?
From the marks a student lost: the concepts behind them are ranked by marks dropped, and the new paper weights those topics. It is the same syllabus and structure, with new questions.
When are the exams?
June and November series. Grades 9–1.

Other Pearson Edexcel International GCSE courses

Start marking Geography scripts · See a real marked script