How to Get an A* in IGCSE Physics

An A* in IGCSE Physics 0625 usually needs roughly 75-85% of the weighted total, depending on the session. That is not a perfection target. It is an accuracy target. You can drop 10-15 marks across three papers and still hit it. This guide shows where A* students collect marks that B-grade students leave behind.

What does it actually take to get an A* in IGCSE Physics?

Three things: full recall of about 40 equations, ruthless past-paper marking, and specific technique for Paper 6 and extended-response questions. Talent helps less than parents expect. The exam rewards trained habits, and habits can be built in 3-6 months.

First, the structure. A* is only available on the Extended tier. That means Paper 2 (multiple choice, 30% weighting), Paper 4 (theory, 50%) and Paper 5 or 6 (practical assessment, 20%). Paper 4 carries half your grade, so it gets half your revision time.

Step 1: Make the equation list automatic

Cambridge does not give you a formula sheet in 0625. Every equation must come from memory, in words and in symbols, with units. The list runs to around 40 equations across the six topics.

A* students do not “revise” equations. They self-test them cold, twice a week, until recall takes under three seconds. Use this drill:

1. Write the quantity name only, e.g. “kinetic energy”.
2. Write the equation in symbols: $E_k = \dfrac{1}{2}mv^2$.
3. Write every unit: joules, kilograms, metres per second.
4. Mark yourself. Anything slow goes on tomorrow’s list.

Our complete equations list page sorts all of them by topic with Core and Extended clearly marked. Print it and keep it next to your desk.

Step 2: Mine your past papers for lost marks

Doing past papers is not the skill. Marking them properly is. After each paper, sort every lost mark into one of four bins:

After five papers, the pattern is obvious. Most students lose 60% of their marks in just one or two bins. That is your revision plan, written by your own mistakes. Aim for 10-15 full papers per component before the exam, marked against official mark schemes, not your own optimism.

Step 3: Stop bleeding marks on Paper 6

Paper 6 (Alternative to Practical) is worth 20% of your grade, and it is the paper where strong theory students underperform most. It tests skills, not knowledge: reading scales, recording tables, plotting graphs, naming precautions.

Three habits separate A* candidates here:

• Record to the precision of the instrument. A ruler reads to the nearest millimetre, so write 25.0 cm, not 25 cm.
• Repeat and average. When asked how to improve reliability, “repeat readings and calculate an average” earns the mark almost every time it fits.
• Name the technique. “Use a set square to check the rule is vertical” beats “be careful” in every mark scheme.

Drill the last six Paper 6 papers separately from your theory revision. They follow extremely repeatable patterns.

Step 4: Train extended-response answers as physics chains

Paper 4 includes 4-6 mark explain questions. Cambridge awards these point by point, so each mark needs one correct, linked physics statement. Vague answers score zero even when the general idea is right.

Compare these answers to “explain why the pressure of a gas increases when heated at constant volume”:

• Weak: “The particles get more energetic so the pressure goes up.” (1 mark at best)
• A*: “Temperature increases, so the average kinetic energy of the molecules increases. Molecules move faster and collide with the walls more often and with greater force. Force per unit area on the walls increases, so pressure increases.” (3 clear marks)

Each sentence earns a mark because each sentence states one piece of physics. Our 6-mark technique guide gives a named, repeatable structure for this.

How long does it take to go from a B to an A*?

With focused work, most students need 3-6 months. That is two equation drills per week, one timed past paper per week from 12 weeks out, and targeted topic repair in between. Students starting from a C usually need a full school year. Starting in the final month rarely moves a grade more than one band, so begin before you feel ready.

A realistic weekly A* routine from 12 weeks out:

• 2 × 20 minutes: equation self-tests, words, symbols and units.
• 1 × timed paper: rotate Paper 2, Paper 4 and Paper 6.
• 1 × 45 minutes: re-do every lost mark from last week’s paper.
• 1 × 30 minutes: topical questions on your two weakest topics.

That is under five hours a week. Consistency beats cramming because mark-scheme habits need repetition to become automatic under time pressure.

“But my child already does past papers and the grade isn’t moving.” This is the most common thing parents tell us, and the cause is almost always unmarked or self-marked papers. Without the official mark scheme, students confirm what they know instead of finding what they don’t. The fix costs nothing: mark schemes are free, and the four-bin log above turns each paper into a targeted plan.

This is exactly the loop our 1-to-1 tutors run in 1.5-hour online classes: drill, timed paper, forensic mark-scheme review, repeat. Founder Rig has spent 8+ years teaching IGCSE students and handpicks each Physics specialist for mark-scheme fluency, not just subject knowledge. If you want a trained second pair of eyes on those lost-mark patterns, the first 1-hour lesson is a free, real taught trial over WhatsApp booking.

The final two weeks

Stop learning new content 14 days out. Switch entirely to:

1. Daily 15-minute equation cold tests.
2. One timed component every two days, full exam conditions.
3. A one-page “my mistakes” sheet, reviewed every morning.
4. Paper 6 table and graph drills, because those marks are the most trainable.

On exam day, the A* habits are simple. Read every command word. Write units on every numerical answer. Give calculation answers to 2 or 3 significant figures. Show working even when confident, because method marks survive arithmetic slips.

An A* in 0625 is a points system, not a gift. Find where your marks leak, plug the two biggest holes, and the grade follows.