upper secondary

academic > curriculum > upper secondary

The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is the international examination which was invented by the University of Cambridge. Students from more than 100 countries participate in IGCSE examination every year, as it is one of the globally recognised certifications for the secondary level. IGCSE is a good foundation to step towards higher education such as A-level examination, pre-university programme, also a main credential for the leading universities and employer as the academic performance and achievement.

In order to help students prepare well for IGCSE, the future career or university career, LUCA Academy will divide them into two divisions - Combined Science and Pure Science, starting from the Year 10. Students can choose their division based on their specialities or career paths. Students in Combined Science will take 6 compulsory subjects: IGCSE English, Chinese, Mathematics, Global Perspective and Accounting. Furthermore, they must also choose two elective subjects from the list of 4 elective subjects: Malay, Art and Design, Business, and ICT. This group of programmes suits the students who intend to be involved in business or art as a career path or who possesses these specialities.

YEAR 10 | YEAR 11

AGE 16/17 AGE 17/18

Pure Science students will take 5 compulsory subjects: IGCSE English, Chinese, Mathematics, Global Perspective and Accounting. In addition, they must choose at least 2 subjects from the list of 4 Pure Science subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Additional Mathematics. Then, they will also choose at least 1 out of 4 elective subjects from the list: Malay, Art and Design, Business, and ICT. This group of programmes suits the students who plan to have careers based on Pure Science requirements, like pharmacist, engineer, doctor and so on, as a pathway or who possesses this kind of specialities. Year 10 and Year 11 students are placed on confirming the personal direction stage (directional stage).

Therefore, to help students to recognise more about themselves and mould their personalities, both Combined Science and Pure Science students must join the Life Education course of the LUCA Academy.At the end of Year 11, students in LUCA Academy will sit for the IGCSE examination. Assessment for IGCSE varies, including writing, speaking and practical assessment. Every student’s performance will be assessed based on 8 grades: A*, A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Teachers will design every challenging mission task for the students in connection to the IGCSE. This will help students to acquire a higher level of training in thinking, knowledge and skills, in order for students to achieve a better performance in the examination. In addition, students will be trained on how to set goals, how to become leaders, nurture their global awareness and spirit of innovative practice.

DIRECTIONAL STAGE