Your child’s school report looks good. Their homework is usually completed. Teachers have not raised a serious concern.
Then they try an IGCSE past paper at home, and the score is much lower than anyone expected.
For parents in Nigeria whose children attend British or international schools, the difference can be alarming. You may ask: “If my child is doing well in school, why can’t they answer the exam questions?”
It does not automatically mean your child’s school grades are misleading, or that they have learned nothing. School assessments and full past papers can place different demands on a learner. The useful next step is to find out where marks are being lost.
Are there topics your child has not yet studied? Do they understand a topic but fail to recognise it in an unfamiliar question? Are they running out of time? Are they giving answers that do not contain enough detail for the available marks?
Each possibility needs a different response.
First, Check That It Is the Right Past Paper
Before judging the score, check the paper itself. Ask your child’s school which qualification, exam board, subject syllabus and papers they are preparing for.
A school may use Cambridge IGCSE or Pearson Edexcel International GCSE, for example. Even within one board, subjects have different syllabuses and paper types. An older paper may also contain content that does not match the syllabus your child is studying.
Cambridge advises users of its past-paper pages that some papers may not reflect the current syllabus. Check the relevant syllabus and your child’s school guidance before using a paper to measure readiness.
If your child has not yet completed the course, a low score on a full paper may partly reflect topics they have not been taught. In that case, begin with questions from completed topics and record which sections are still to come.
Why Can School Grades and Past-Paper Scores Differ?
There is no single explanation. These are five patterns worth checking.
1. Your child knows a topic when it is named, but not when it is hidden inside a question
In class, the teacher may say, “Today we are practising simultaneous equations.” Your child knows which method to use.
In an exam, the question may describe two unknown quantities in a real situation. The student has to recognise that simultaneous equations are needed before they can start solving.
That first decision is part of the skill being assessed. More practice with clearly labelled examples will help only so much if your child still cannot identify the method independently.
2. They remember facts but struggle to apply them
A student might accurately recall a Science definition, then lose marks when asked to use the idea to explain an unfamiliar result.
Likewise, a learner may know a formula in Mathematics but struggle to decide whether it applies to a particular problem.
Ask your child to explain why they chose an answer. If they can repeat a rule but cannot connect it to the question, focus the next practice session on reasoning, rather than memorising the rule again.
3. They misunderstand what the question asks
Words such as describe, explain, compare and evaluate can require different kinds of answers. A student who describes what happened may lose marks on a question that asks them to explain why it happened.
When reviewing a paper, underline the instruction in each missed question. Then compare what the student wrote with what the question required. This can reveal a pattern that an overall score hides.
4. Their answer does not show enough working or explanation
Your child may know how to arrive at an answer but leave out steps, units, reasoning or relevant detail. In an extended response, they may write a true statement that does not fully address the question.
Use the mark scheme to discuss what a complete answer needed. Avoid teaching your child to memorise the wording of one mark scheme; the goal is to understand what earns marks and express that understanding clearly in a new question.
5. Timing changes their performance
A child may do well when homework has no strict time limit but struggle to choose questions, pace themselves and check answers during a full paper.
Look at where marks were lost. Did they leave the final questions blank? Did mistakes increase toward the end? If so, timing may be part of the problem. It may still be combined with a knowledge gap: students often work slowly on topics they do not understand well.
How to Review One IGCSE Paper With Your Child
You do not need to be an expert in every subject to begin a useful review. Work through one paper with your child and a suitable mark scheme. For every question where they lost marks, record the question number and choose the main reason:
What happened?What to look forThe topic has not been taught yetConfirm it against the school’s teaching plan before treating it as a weakness.The concept is unclearYour child cannot explain the idea even after the topic is identified.They chose the wrong methodThey understand the method when prompted but did not recognise when to use it.They misread the questionThey missed a condition, instruction, unit or key piece of information.The answer was incompleteTheir response contains a correct point but does not fully address the marks available.They ran out of timeThey left questions unfinished or rushed work they could otherwise do.
Do not try to correct the entire paper in one sitting. Choose two or three recurring problems. For example: “You understand algebra when the topic is named, but struggle to identify it in word problems,” or “Your Biology knowledge is sound, but your explanations need more detail.”
That is a far more useful conclusion than “You need to study harder.”
Should Your Child Keep Doing More Past Papers?
Past papers are valuable, but completing paper after paper without reviewing mistakes can repeat the same problem.
Try a cycle:
- Attempt a suitable set of questions independently.
- Review lost marks and identify the cause.
- Reteach or practise the underlying skill.
- Retry a different question that tests the same skill.
- Check later whether the improvement holds without hints.
Use shorter sets when you are working on a particular gap. Use a full timed paper when your child has covered enough of the syllabus and needs to practise managing the complete exam. Both have a place; they answer different questions about readiness.
A Practical Example: When “More Revision” Is Too Vague
Imagine a student in Lagos scores well on school Maths tests but performs poorly on an IGCSE paper.
Looking more closely, the parent and tutor find that the student handles direct algebra questions. The missed marks come mainly from word problems: the student does not know how to turn the information into equations.
“Revise all of algebra” would consume a great deal of time. A better initial goal is:
“Practise identifying the unknowns, writing equations from word problems, and explaining why those equations represent the situation.”
After working on that skill, the student tries new word problems independently. If they improve only on questions they have seen before, more work is needed on applying the method.
The same principle applies to English and Science. Find the kind of thinking the question requires, then practise that skill across more than one example.
When Should Parents Seek Extra IGCSE Support?
Consider one-to-one help if the same errors keep appearing after school feedback and independent practice, or if your child cannot explain where they became stuck. Support can also be useful when several weak topics need to be prioritised before an approaching examination.
Before booking a tutor, ask:
- Will you check my child’s exam board and current syllabus?
- Will you review their marked work to identify patterns?
- How will you balance understanding the subject with answering exam questions?
- How will you show us what has improved and what still needs work?
A good plan should be specific to the learner. “We will complete many past papers” is an activity. “We will strengthen two weak topics and check whether the learner can apply them in unfamiliar questions” is a goal you can review.
What Parents Can Do This Week
If your child’s school grades and IGCSE practice scores do not seem to match, take these four steps:
- Confirm the qualification and syllabus with the school.
- Choose one suitable paper or set of questions from topics your child has studied.
- Sort lost marks by cause, rather than looking only at the total score.
- Agree on one or two priorities with the teacher or tutor, then check progress using different questions.
A low past-paper score can feel discouraging. It can also show you exactly where support is needed—provided you examine the answers, not just the number at the top of the page.
IGCSE Support for Students in Nigeria
At Glareminds, we provide one-to-one online academic support for learners studying international curricula in Nigeria. For an IGCSE learner, the starting point is to understand their school syllabus, review their current work and identify the gaps affecting their answers.
If your child is doing well in class but struggling with IGCSE past papers, book an academic consultation with Glareminds. Share a recent marked paper and the subject syllabus if you have them. That gives us a clearer place to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a low IGCSE past-paper score mean my child will fail the exam?
No single practice score can tell you that. Check whether your child has studied all the topics on the paper, whether the paper matches their syllabus, and where they lost marks. Use the result to guide preparation.
How many IGCSE past papers should my child complete?
There is no useful number for every learner. A carefully reviewed paper can reveal more than several papers completed without feedback. Mix targeted questions with full papers at the appropriate stage of preparation.
Should my child use Cambridge papers if their school follows Pearson Edexcel?
Use the papers and syllabus for the qualification your child will take when assessing exam readiness. Questions from another board may sometimes provide extra topic practice, but they should not replace preparation for the correct paper.
What should I bring to an IGCSE tutoring consultation?
Bring the subject and exam board details, a recent school report if available, and one or two marked assessments or past-paper attempts. Examples of your child’s actual answers are more useful than a score alone.