Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Science (Double Award) (4SD0): syllabus, papers and marking

The three Paper 1s are the single-science Paper 1s, so the 4BI1 marking already shown on the Biology page applies here as each rubric is released.

Specification Issue 4 (September 2024), first teaching 2017 · June and November series · grades 9–1 (double grade)

IGCSE Double Science: where the marks go

Edexcel International GCSE Science (Double Award) (4SD0) gives two grades from three 2-hour papers: Biology, Chemistry and Physics, each the same paper as the single-science Paper 1. The papers mix multiple-choice, short-answer, calculation and extended open-response questions. Pearson’s 2025 reports for the single sciences say candidates are strong on recall and the maths skills in the appendix, and lose marks on precise wording, on units and on rearranging a formula before substituting.

Our papers are original and follow the published structure for each science. Marking returns the mark points awarded and missed, with the exact missing term named, and the biology marking already shown on the 4BI1 page applies as each rubric is released.

How we mark a real script

Paper structure and what we mark

PaperTimeMarksWeightQuestions
Paper 1B — Biology2 h11033.3%Same paper as 4BI1 Paper 1: multiple-choice, short-answer, calculations and extended open-response
Paper 1C — Chemistry2 h11033.3%Same paper as 4CH1 Paper 1
Paper 1P — Physics2 h11033.3%Same paper as 4PH1 Paper 1

Syllabus outline

  1. Biology: organisms, structures and functions, reproduction and inheritance, ecology, biological resources
  2. Chemistry: principles, inorganic, physical and organic chemistry
  3. Physics: forces and motion, electricity, waves, energy, matter, magnetism, radioactivity, astrophysics
  4. Mathematical skills: standard form, probability, mean and median, calculations with units

How each paper is marked here

Where IGCSE Double Science candidates lose marks

  1. Precise terms left loose — Saying sugar for sucrose, air for oxygen, or respiration producing energy instead of releasing it, loses the mark.
  2. Substituting after a wrong rearrangement — No credit is given once the rearrangement is wrong; substitute the data first, then rearrange.
  3. Answers not in standard form — A result left as a long decimal when the question asks for standard form loses the final mark.
  4. Incomplete answers on a pH or colour test — Giving a colour change without the pH value or range, or without saying the solution is alkaline, earns part of the marks.
  5. Vectors with magnitude but no direction — A velocity answer that considers only the size and not the direction misses the second mark.

Sample papers, mark schemes and marked reports for IGCSE Double Science

Sample material

Questions teachers ask

Is Double Award the same as the single sciences?
The three Paper 1s are the single-science Paper 1s, so the same marking applies; the grade is a double grade.
Which papers are covered?
Biology first, then Chemistry and Physics.
Which sitting?
Pearson offers Double Award in June and November.
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 Double Science. Only you see the marking, and you decide what reaches the student.
Do you reproduce past-paper questions?
No. Every 4SD0 paper here is original and written to the specification issue 4 (september 2024), 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 (double grade).

Other Pearson Edexcel International GCSE courses

Start marking Science (Double Award) scripts · See a real marked script