Cambridge IGCSE Physics 0625 · Core and Extended · Online, one-to-one

IGCSE Physics tutor for Cambridge 0625, one-to-one and online

Renzo Diaz tutors Cambridge IGCSE Physics 0625 one-to-one online, at Core and Extended, for students at international schools: all six topics of the syllabus examined in 2026, 2027 and 2028, and the practical paper. He is an engineer (MSc, Politecnico di Milano) teaching IB since 2016, and his strongest documented Physics result is a final 7 in IB Physics SL, from a 3, in May 2025, the course IGCSE Physics leads into. Lessons are in English or Spanish, and the first step is a free 45-minute strategy call.

Every candidate sits three papers. Core candidates take Papers 1 and 3 and can reach grades C to G; Extended candidates take Papers 2 and 4 and can reach A* to G; and everyone sits Paper 5, the practical test, or Paper 6, the alternative to practical, worth a fifth of the result. The entry tier caps the grade before the exam starts, which is why it deserves an honest assessment, not a default from one mock (Cambridge's 0625 syllabus).

IGCSE Physics is where the mathematics inside physics becomes fluent or becomes a habit of guessing: rearranging an equation, carrying units, reading a gradient. Those are the steps that break first in IB Physics two years later, so they are the steps I diagnose first, with families in Switzerland, Germany, Milan and further afield, online.

IGCSE Physics tutor for Cambridge 0625: the key facts

Syllabus
Cambridge IGCSE Physics 0625, examined in 2026, 2027 and 2028: six topics, Core and Extended
Papers
Multiple choice (Paper 1 or 2, 30%), theory (Paper 3 or 4, 50%) and practical (Paper 5 or 6, 20%)
Teaching IB since
April 2016, with a dated record on the About page
Rating on Google
4.9 / 5 from 19 public reviews, with a review in every calendar year since 2020 (as of October 2026)
Documented Physics result
A final 7 in IB Physics SL, from a 3, in the first exams of the current IB course (May 2025)
Time zone
Milan (CET), the same as Zurich, Geneva, Munich and Frankfurt, so lessons fit straight after school
First step
A free 45-minute strategy call: 15 minutes with a parent, then 30 with the student on a topic they choose
Lesson record
Every programme includes the session recording, an AI-generated summary and a searchable archive

IGCSE Physics 0625: where students usually lose the marks

The formula is remembered, the physics is not.

A student who recalls that the gain in gravitational potential energy is mgh, then assumes all of it becomes kinetic energy on the way down, has memorised an equation without the system it describes. Theory questions on Papers 3 and 4 are written to find exactly that. We start from what the student thinks is happening, physically, and only then write the equation.

The practical paper, left until the mocks.

Paper 5 or Paper 6 is a fifth of the grade and tests experimental skills alone: planning a method, recording a table with units, drawing a line of best fit, reading a gradient and naming the sources of error. These are trainable skills, and they decide the top grades, so we practise them all year rather than in the last month.

Core or Extended, decided by one mock.

A Core entry caps the grade at C, whatever happens on the day. Sometimes that is the right call; sometimes it is made by default from a single test. If your child is near the boundary, an outside view of the Supplement content they can already handle is worth having before the entry is confirmed.

The mathematics inside the physics.

Many students who say they do not understand physics are stuck one step earlier: rearranging for the subject, standard form, converting units, reading a graph. The diagnosis separates the physics from the mathematics, then repairs whichever one is actually broken.

Looking ahead to IB Physics.

The IB Physics course assumes the habits IGCSE was meant to build: defining a system, handling uncertainty, explaining a result in words. Students who build them at fifteen arrive in the Diploma ready to choose SL or HL on evidence, not on fear.

The 0625 syllabus, topic by topic

What an IGCSE Physics tutor works through, in the order of the 0625 syllabus

Coverage follows the six topics of the Cambridge syllabus your school is entered for, Core and Supplement, sequenced around the school calendar and the mock season. Cambridge designs each IGCSE to take about 130 guided learning hours. IGCSE Mathematics 0580 and 0607 and Additional Mathematics 0606 are on the IGCSE Maths and Physics page.

  • Motion, forces and energy: measurement, motion and its graphs, mass and weight, density, forces, momentum, energy, work and power, and pressure
  • Thermal physics: the kinetic particle model, thermal properties and temperature, and the transfer of thermal energy
  • Waves: the general properties of waves, light, the electromagnetic spectrum and sound
  • Electricity and magnetism: magnetism, electrical quantities, circuits, electrical safety and electromagnetic effects
  • Nuclear physics: the nuclear model of the atom and radioactivity
  • Space physics: the Earth and the Solar System, and stars and the Universe
  • Experimental skills for Paper 5 or 6: planning, tables, graphs, gradients and sources of error
  • Paper technique: 40 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes, structured theory answers and where the method marks are

What's actually examined

IGCSE Physics 0625 exam papers: what each one tests

Core candidates sit Papers 1, 3 and 5 or 6, for grades C to G; Extended candidates sit Papers 2, 4 and 5 or 6, for grades A* to G. Across the qualification, knowledge with understanding carries 50%, handling information and problem-solving 30%, and experimental skills 20%. Figures from Cambridge's syllabus for 2026, 2027 and 2028.

Cambridge IGCSE Physics 0625 papers for 2026 to 2028: duration, marks, weighting and what each tests
PaperDurationMarksWeightWhat it tests
Paper 1, Multiple Choice (Core)45 minutes40 marks30%40 four-option questions on the Core content.
Paper 2, Multiple Choice (Extended)45 minutes40 marks30%40 four-option questions on the Core and Supplement content.
Paper 3, Theory (Core)1 hour 15 minutes80 marks50%Short-answer and structured questions on the Core content.
Paper 4, Theory (Extended)1 hour 15 minutes80 marks50%Short-answer and structured questions on the Core and Supplement content.
Paper 5, Practical Test1 hour 15 minutes40 marks20%Experimental skills, in the laboratory.
Paper 6, Alternative to Practical1 hour40 marks20%The same experimental skills, on paper.

The method

Diagnosis first, then a fixed weekly rhythm

Every week opens with last week's wrong answers, because wrong answers are the cheapest source of marks. We work on what is live from school, advance the syllabus in order, and keep the same rhythm through mocks and the practical paper. Every programme includes the session recording, an AI-generated summary and a searchable archive the student keeps.

The diagnosis starts from one graph. A student plots distance against time for a trolley and reads a speed from a single point on the line. Ask why the gradient, not one point, gives the speed, and what the units of that gradient are, and you see whether the student reads graphs as physics or as pictures, the skill the practical paper rewards. Bring a recent marked paper to the strategy call.

Documented · public reviews since 2020

IGCSE Physics leads into IB Physics: the documented results it builds towards

One student started with me on IGCSE International Mathematics 0607 and continued through IB Physics HL; that path is a public Google review. The habits built at IGCSE are the ones the Diploma assumes.

The strongest documented Physics result is a final 7 in IB Physics SL, from a 3, in the first exams of the current IB course (May 2025). The record behind it carries a 4.9 / 5 rating on Google from 19 public reviews since June 2020 (as of October 2026).

Questions

IGCSE Physics tutoring online: questions parents ask

Which IGCSE Physics syllabus do you teach?

Cambridge IGCSE Physics 0625, at Core and Extended, on the syllabus examined in 2026, 2027 and 2028, including the practical paper. If your child is on another board, ask anyway: the physics overlaps heavily, and I will tell you honestly whether I am the right person for it.

Should my child sit Core or Extended?

Core caps the grade at C; Extended opens A* to G and adds the Supplement content. The right entry depends on what the student can already handle in the Supplement, not on one mock. We look at real Extended questions before the entry is confirmed.

Paper 5 or Paper 6: does it change how we prepare?

The school decides which practical paper it enters. Both test the same experimental skills and carry 20% of the grade, so the preparation is the same: planning a method, tables with units, graphs, gradients and sources of error.

Do you also teach IGCSE Maths?

Yes: Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics 0580, International Mathematics 0607 and Additional Mathematics 0606. They are on the IGCSE Maths and Physics page. For a student heading to IB Physics HL, fluent algebra is half the preparation.

Year 10 or Year 11: when should we start?

Year 10 leaves room to repair the mathematics inside the physics and to build the practical skills gradually. Year 11 still works well from the autumn term; after the mocks it becomes triage, and I will say so plainly.

How do we start?

Request a strategy call through the site. The call is free: 15 minutes with a parent, then 30 with the student on a topic they choose, so you see how I teach before anyone commits. If it is a fit, the first month is four one-hour sessions, with no minimum term after it.

Related pages

IGCSE Physics is the cheapest place to fix the foundations.

If your child knows the formulas but loses the marks, or the practical paper is still a mystery, the next step is a conversation, not a commitment. The strategy call is free, and I will tell you directly whether I can help.