The British Curriculum in Pakistani Schools

Two systems, and where they split

Up to about Grade 8 the two routes look similar from the outside — English-medium private schooling, broadly the same subjects, broadly the same content. The fork comes at Grade 9.

One road is the national one: the Secondary School Certificate at Grades 9 and 10, then the Higher Secondary School Certificate — Intermediate, or FSc for the science stream — at Grades 11 and 12, examined by a regional Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education or by the Federal Board. Results are reported as percentages.

The other is the Cambridge Pathway: O Level or IGCSE at roughly the same age, then A Level, entered through the British Council and examined in the May/June and October/November series. Results are reported as grades. Both roads carry compulsory national subjects — Urdu, Islamiat and Pakistan Studies — with Cambridge schools entering students for Cambridge's own versions of the last two.

What actually differs, once you look at the mathematics

Less content than people assume, and more assessment than they expect. Quadratics, trigonometry, mensuration and coordinate geometry appear in both. What differs is what a paper rewards.

A board paper in the national system leans towards reproducing a taught method accurately. An O Level or IGCSE paper leans towards applying a method to a context the student has not seen, and awards method marks along the way, so a student who takes a sensible route and slips at the end still banks most of the marks. That difference in mark scheme is felt more sharply than any difference in syllabus, and it is the thing a student switching between systems has to relearn.

The other real difference is language. O Level and IGCSE papers are written in a register of English that assumes fluency under time pressure — 'hence', 'give your answer to three significant figures', 'show that'. A student whose mathematics is strong and whose reading speed is not will lose marks on the wording rather than on the mathematics.

The IBCC certificate, which families forget until it is late

An O Level or A Level result is not directly usable in a Pakistani admissions system, which runs on percentages. To convert it you need an equivalence certificate from the Inter Boards Coordination Commission, which restates the grades as a Matric or Intermediate percentage. It is applied for, not issued automatically, and it takes time that admission deadlines do not allow for.

The bigger cost of the Cambridge route for a family staying in Pakistan is the entrance tests. The MDCAT for medicine, and the engineering entry tests, are written against the national Intermediate syllabus. An A Level student sits an examination pitched at a course they were not taught, and has to cover the difference themselves in the months after their A Level papers finish.

This is not an argument against the Cambridge route. It is an argument for knowing about it at Grade 8 rather than at Grade 12, when it is a nine-month problem instead of a three-month one.

How to decide, at Grade 8

The decision is usually presented as a question about quality, and it is not one. Both systems produce strong students and weak ones. It is a question about destination, cost and fit, and these five questions get at it faster than any comparison of syllabuses.

Answer them in that order. The first one settles most families before they reach the second.

• Where will this child sit their degree? Abroad favours the Cambridge route; a public-sector medical or engineering seat in Pakistan favours FSc.
• Can the household sustain per-subject examination fees in a foreign-currency-linked schedule, including the possibility of a retake?
• Does the school actually teach the route it advertises during school hours, or is the real preparation happening at an evening tuition centre you will also pay for?
• Is the child's written English strong enough to be examined in it against a clock?
• How long does this school take over O Level — two years or three — and what does that do to the age they finish?

Where we sit in this

We teach both sides of it: school subjects for grades 1 to 10 including mathematics, science, English, history, geography and Quran, and GCSE and IGCSE Mathematics for students on the international route. We do not teach A Level.

What we will not do is tell a family which system to choose. We do not know your child's university plans, your household's finances or your city's schools, and a tutoring provider recommending the route it happens to sell is not giving advice. What we can do is say precisely what each examination asks for, so that the choice is made on the papers rather than on the prospectus.