What IGCSE and A-Levels are
They are two consecutive stages of one curriculum, modelled on the UK National Curriculum.
The IGCSE, the International General Certificate of Secondary Education, is prepared between 14 and 16 over two years. Each subject carries its own official certification; at Chantemerle, students prepare six.
A-Levels follow, from 16 to 18, also over two years. Here everything changes: the student keeps only three subjects and studies them in depth, to a level that in Switzerland corresponds to a first university year in that discipline.
Is the IGCSE a high school diploma?
No, and this is the most common confusion.
The IGCSE marks the end of compulsory schooling, at around 16. It is a subject-by-subject certification, internationally recognised, but it is not a university entrance qualification. It compares to the end of middle school, not to a school leaving diploma.
A-Levels are what serve as the school leaving qualification and the university entrance title. A family that stops at IGCSE has not finished the pathway: they have banked a useful intermediate stage, good for moving into another system, but not enough to apply to a university.
Specialising in three subjects, the real difference
This is what genuinely separates the pathway from the Swiss Matura, and the point a family has to decide on.
The Matura keeps twelve subjects running to the end. A-Levels keep three. A student who knows at sixteen that they want engineering can give two full years to mathematics, physics and computer science, without dragging along a language or an arts subject they will never use.
That is a considerable advantage for a student with a settled direction. It is a genuine risk for one who is still undecided, because coming back after dropping half your subjects is hard. Choosing three A-Levels at sixteen largely commits what follows.
How IGCSE and A-Levels are graded
Both use letter scales rather than the Swiss 1 to 6 marks.
IGCSE is graded from A* to G, subject by subject. A-Levels run from A* to E, with E still a pass. Each subject is certified separately: there is no overall average, no compensation between subjects, no rescuing one result with another.
That logic is the exact inverse of the Matura, where a compensation rule lets a strong mark offset a weak one. At A-Level a weak result cannot be rescued by the other two: it stands as it is in a university application, and the only remedy is to resit that paper in a later series. It is both clearer and more unforgiving.
Matura or A-Levels: the structural comparison
| Criterion | Swiss Federal Matura | IGCSE and A-Levels |
|---|---|---|
| Language | French, bilingual option | English |
| Subjects at the end | 12 subjects | 3 subjects |
| Grading | 1 to 6, with compensation | A* to E, per subject |
| Access to Swiss universities | Automatic and unconditional | Subject to grade and subject conditions |
| How it reads internationally | Recognised, less known | Immediate across the English-speaking world |
| Timetable flexibility | Limited | High |
Neither column is better. They describe two opposing logics: breadth against depth, guaranteed local access against international portability.
Four profiles this pathway genuinely fits
1. The internationally mobile student
An expatriate family moving country every three or four years needs a transferable curriculum. IGCSE and A-Levels are exactly that: taught everywhere, recognised everywhere. A student leaving Switzerland for Singapore, Dubai or London picks up where they left off instead of starting again. That portability is the pathway’s strongest selling point.
2. The elite athlete or artist
Taking three subjects rather than twelve means a compressible timetable and a clearer examination calendar. For a club-level tennis or ice hockey player, a skier or a dancer, that flexibility often decides whether doing both is possible at all.
At Chantemerle these students get timetables built around training and competition, online resources and supervised study that keep continuity while they travel. Our sport, art and study programme sets out how it works.
3. The student with a specific learning profile
For a student with dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD or a gifted profile going unchallenged, cutting the number of things to juggle changes a great deal. Concentrating effort on three subjects chosen for their strengths often produces better results than a broad programme where every weak subject drags.
The Cambridge framework also provides for formal adjustments: individual support plans, differentiated teaching, examination access arrangements such as extra time, granted by Cambridge on application, and teachers trained for these situations. We work alongside the families and specialists already following the child.
4. The student aiming at an English-speaking university
For applications to the UK, the United States, Canada or Australia, A-Levels are read instantly by admissions offices with no equivalence to establish. British universities make their offers directly in A-Level grades. In the United States, A-Levels are read at the same level as AP examinations and can earn advanced standing or course credit.
What the pathway actually requires
The first is English. Entry requires a B1 level. Below that, students go through our English integration programme before joining the course. The curriculum is designed for students whose first language is not English, but it is not magic: sitting through a physics lesson in English is no use if you cannot understand it.
The second is the maturity of the choice. Picking three subjects at sixteen takes a clarity that not every teenager has at the same moment. This is where individual guidance from adults who know the student beats any brochure.
The right question is not which qualification is better. It is which one matches the way your child learns, and what they want to do next.
What about getting into a Swiss university?
Unlike the Federal Matura, A-Levels do not grant automatic access to Swiss public universities. The conditions come in two parts. First: three A-Levels, at least one of them mathematics or another natural science, with a minimum of two Bs and a C. Second, and routinely overlooked: three further subjects at AS or IGCSE level, graded B or above, covering the required general education areas. EPFL and ETH Zurich set the bar higher still. The current conditions are published by swissuniversities, and our students, preparing six IGCSEs, naturally satisfy the second part.
That is not out of reach, but it leaves no margin. It is why we steer students considering Switzerland towards solid science combinations, typically mathematics, physics and economics. A family whose plan is clearly a Swiss university should look first at the Federal Matura, where access is unconditional.
IGCSE and A-Levels around Lake Geneva
English-language provision on the Lake Geneva arc is concentrated in Geneva and Lausanne, with large international schools, most of them built around the International Baccalaureate. Registered Cambridge centres are rarer, and small ones rarer still.
Chantemerle is a registered Cambridge International School in Blonay above Vevey, about an hour’s drive from Geneva. We take students from 11 to 18, as boarders or day students, in deliberately small classes.
The pathway at Chantemerle
Students usually join at 14, prepare six IGCSE subjects over two years, then three A-Levels over two more. Subjects available cover English as a first or second language, mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, economics, business studies, computer science, French and a third language.
The IGCSE can also be prepared in a single year under certain conditions, which suits students spending one year abroad before returning to their home system. And for candidates to English-speaking universities, our University Foundation Programme strengthens academic English, methodology and application preparation, alongside A-Levels or another course.
Full subject lists and admission requirements are on our Cambridge International pathway page. If your hesitation is really about the IB, our article on common misconceptions about the Swiss Matura and the IB covers that ground. And if you would rather talk it through, write to us: we will tell you honestly which of the two pathways fits your child.
Frequently asked questions
The school management answers the questions families ask most often.
Is the IGCSE a high school diploma?
No. The IGCSE marks the end of compulsory schooling, at around 16. It is a subject-by-subject certification, internationally recognised, but not a university entrance qualification: it compares to the end of middle school. A-Levels, taken between 16 and 18, are what serve as the school leaving diploma and the university entrance title.
How many subjects do you take at A-Level?
Three as a rule, studied in depth over two years, to a level that in Switzerland corresponds to a first university year in that discipline. That is the major difference from the Swiss Federal Matura, which keeps twelve subjects running to the end. At IGCSE, students take six subjects over the two preceding years.
Do A-Levels give access to Swiss universities?
Yes, but conditionally, unlike the Federal Matura where access is automatic. Students need a minimum of two Bs and a C across their three A-Levels, one of which must be mathematics or another natural science. It is achievable, but it leaves no margin, so students aiming at Switzerland should choose solid science combinations. Three further subjects at AS or IGCSE level, graded B or above, are also required. EPFL and ETH Zurich ask for more.
What level of English is needed for the Cambridge pathway?
A B1 level is required on entry. Below that, students go through our English integration programme before joining the course. The curriculum is designed for students whose first language is not English, but following a science lesson in English does assume you can follow the lesson.
Can the IGCSE be prepared in one year?
Yes, under certain conditions. This format suits students spending a year abroad before returning to their home school system, or those who want to build confidence studying in English before taking on a demanding course such as A-Levels or the IB.
Where can you study IGCSE and A-Levels in French-speaking Switzerland?
English-language provision around Lake Geneva is concentrated in Geneva and Lausanne, with large international schools mostly built around the International Baccalaureate. Registered Cambridge centres are rarer. Chantemerle is a registered Cambridge International School in Blonay above Vevey, about an hour from Geneva, taking students from 11 to 18 as boarders or day students.
