Announcement: Cambridge IGCSE, and AS & A Level November 2024 past papers are now available.
Home schooling (homeschooling) or home education is a form of education based at home. Parents teach their child at home, either full-time or part-time, with or without assistance from tutors.
Follow this comprehensive home schooling guide to get your home schooling journey started well.
Parents give many different reasons to home-school their children. The three (major) reasons selected by parents of more than two-thirds of students were:
Numerous studies have found that home-schooled students on average outperform their peers on standardised tests. Here are some statistics for reference:
* The correct usage of the “home school” term:
Home school is on its way to becoming a compound. For now, when home school functions as a noun, it is still two words, without a hyphen. When it functions as a verb, it usually takes a hyphen (－) e.g.: I home-school my children; my children are home-schooled. “Homeschooling” is the term commonly used in North America, whereas “home school” or “home education” is more commonly used in the United Kingdom, elsewhere in Europe, and in many Commonwealth countries.
Home schooling is legal in many countries. Some countries have highly regulated home schooling programmes, some have outlawed it completely. Therefore, here are a few important things to check from a start:
Choosing an appropriate curriculum for home schoolers is extremely important. Parents that chose home schooling are usually not satisfied with their local schools’ syllabus. As such, home school programmes that are based on international school curriculum have become increasingly popular.
The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and International AS/A Level (IAL) are suitable as home school curriculum due to their high quality syllabus, being recognised worldwide, and are accepted by top universities around the world.
Another advantage of choosing IGCSE and IAL as home schooling curriculum is, home schoolers are able to sit for exams at any time whenever they are ready for exam. There are many exam centres around the world that home schoolers can choose from to register for exams. Since people are traveling and relocating frequently, the flexibility of education plays an important role.
Generally, IGCSE and IAL exams are available twice a year: June series or November series. The exam timetable is being divided into different administrative zones. You may find the Edexcel exam timetable, and Cambridge exam timetable on the respective pages.
It has come to our attention that many private tuition centres in Malaysia are offering IGCSE programmes as “Home School” / “Homeschool” centres.
These private tuition centres are running the centres as a school. IGCSE is used as the main teaching curriculum, and there is a full-day “schooling schedule”, from Monday to Friday. Thus many parents misunderstood it as an alternative “school” to the Malaysian traditional school.
Since the fees are way much cheaper than the international schools which also offer the same IGCSE curriculum, parents are rushing to send their children to these private centres ? thinking that they are sending their children to a “formal school” offering IGCSE curriculum. They started this process from Year 1/Grade 1.
After some years, for some reasons, when these parents wanted to send their children to an international/private school or national government school for Secondary education, they could not admit their children into any formal secondary school. These formal secondary schools were asking them for a formal Primary school certificate, which is not available from these private tuition centres.
The below message is just one of the many messages that we received all these years from the desperate Malaysian parents who do not know what to do.
*****
Subject:
Please help!
Message:
Hi, my son is 12 years old and currently studying in a small learning
centre taking Cambridge curriculum / syllabus for his full day
learning. I am trying to apply a bigger private school for him where
they also offering Cambridge curriculum, but the problem here is they
now reluctant to accept my son as their reason is they prefer Malaysia
public school (which they don’t offer Cambridge curriculum at all). Can
you please help us to direct to them (since that bigger school also
using the syllabus of IGCSE), or give my son a test and get a primary
IGCSE certificate in order to have strong supporting document? Please
help. Much appreciate for your prompt reply.
*****
It is important to know that, when you start home schooling your children, either part time or full time, you as a parent is going to take up the responsibility to ensure your children is having the needed education.
If you are not able to educate your children full time, you could always get assistance from some private learning centres / tuition centres in your local area. But please bare in mind that these private learning/tuition centres are there to help, they are NOT a formal school.
Home education is a marathon. You can’t give up halfway before reaching the finish line. For example, wanting to send your children back to school when you feel you cannot or do not have time to continue the responsibility anymore. Chances are, your children would get rejected due to the absent of formal primary school certificates.
So you may wonder, when/what is the finish line?
The finish line is the final exams at the end of the secondary level education (either IGCSE or O Level), and at the end of high school level education (either A Level or IB).
It is NOT at the primary level. Most parents make this mistake, thinking they could home educate their children up to the primary level, then send them to a formal secondary school later.
This is called ‘half way marathon’. Primary level is not the finish line.
So, make up your mind that you will finish the marathon. You can also take the ‘half way marathon’. Please continue reading to find out how to do that.
You can always follow your local national curriculum. Otherwise, Edexcel iGCSE, Cambridge IGCSE or O Level , Edexcel International A Level, and Cambridge International A Level, are all good choices for home schooling.
Edexcel’s iGCSE syllabus and International A Level syllabus are more suitable for the current international audience. You will find interesting content addressing the global arena, stable and well-developed syllabus, and with highest standard as universities’ entry requirements.
Children who learn global facts at an early age would be more likely to be open minded and able to mix with and respect other cultures.
Once you have chosen your curriculum/exam board, you need to plan your teaching programmes from start to finish.
It might sound intimidating for a start, however, if you plan well, it would be very fun and rewarding.
Here are some suggestions you could use:
Generally, primary Year/Grade 1 would start from age 6/7, depending on which country you are residing. In our example, we will stick to age 7 as the standard Year/Grade 1 age for most of the countries worldwide.
You may choose to educate your child for 6 year primary programme, which is a norm practice and minimum requirement internationally.
Your child would finish primary programme at age 12. However, your child would NOT obtain any primary school leaving certificate, nor any formal primary exams certificates at this stage.
If you think these certificates are important, please plan to register your child into a formal primary school at Year/Grade 5. In this way, your child would be able to proceed to Year/Grade 6 and sit for the formal primary exams.
You must register your child at Year/Grade 5. As there is no schools in the world would take new students in Year/Grade 6.
These certificates might be helpful if you suddenly can’t cope with the teaching, nor have anymore time to complete the secondary programmes by yourself. If you want to register your child with any formal secondary schools, you certainly need those certificates.
This is for the ‘half way marathon’. Please put this in mind from the start.
Once you have accomplished primary programme, it is time for you to start Lower Secondary programme. At this point of time, it would be Year/Grade 7 for schooled children
Lower Secondary programme can be quite flexible if your child has very strong basic and could cope faster.
The general Lower Secondary programme lasts for 3 years, e.g.: Year/Grade 7, 8 and 9.
If you think your child could do 2 years only, then proceed to the Upper Secondary programme, you are more than welcome to do so.
But please know that, we do not encourage speedy zooming through this stage just to get your child graduate faster. What is the point at the end of the day? Is entering university at very young age a vital and meaningful goal to achieve? Guess not.
If your child follow the normal 3-year Lower Secondary programme, he/she would be 15 years old at the end of the programme.
If you make a short cut, just do a 2 year programme, then your child would be 14 years old at the end of the Lower Secondary programme.
Again, your child would NOT obtain any formal Lower Secondary certificates, nor this is required for the final exam in IGCSE / O Level.
This is where the stamina to keep going on for home education gets low, and problems would arise if you want to send your child to any formal second school. Since your child does not have any formal primary certificates (assuming you did not get one for them from the suggestion above), no schools would accept him/her.
This is a 2-year programme, generally. This is where the IGCSE / O Level programme starts. For the schooled students, it would be Year/Grade 10 and 11.
Again, you might accomplish the whole IGCSE / O Level programme in just 1 year － that is entirely up to the capability of your child (not how parents want it, sorry 🙂 )
Once your child is ready to sit for the final exam, search for the nearest exam centres in your local area. Your local British Council is the best option for private candidates. If you cannot find any British Council near you, you can always try to approach any registered school which accepts private candidates to sit for the exams.
It is always good to know all the exams registration key dates, so you don’t missed out the registration closing dates. Bookmark this exams registration key dates page, and know all the dates by hard.
If your child follow the normal route, he/she would be 17 years old when he/she sits for the final exams. Otherwise, cutting short a year, would make him/her sitting for the exams at age 16 － that is the benefit of being home educated.
Finally, this is where your child obtain the official IGCSE / O Level certificates as a home-educated child. This marks the end of your journey in home education for your child, congratulation!
As you can see now, home education is a marathon actually. You need to have the strength and stamina to keep going for 10/11 years (starting from Year 1-Year 11) until your child obtain the one and only official exam certificate in your child’s life. This certificate will be used for further studies, either A Level or any other equivalent level.
Normally top tier universities would require A Level certificates (or its equivalent such as International Baccalaureate (IB), sixth form etc.) as entry requirements. At this stage, your child would be able to continue A Level self-study; since he/she has completed the final stage of secondary school home education.
Read further on Edexcel International A Level and Cambridge International A Level guides respectively.
Getting ready for exams can be stressful. Follow our guides on how to handle your stress when exam is approaching. (We guarantee you will feel lighter after reading the post 🙂 .)
Our valuable A* resources had produced thousands of A* scorers around the world. Check them out below.
Our internationally loved exam model answers had helped thousands of students in scoring A/A*. Schools and teachers worldwide have used these resources to aid in their teachings. Learn what an A* answer like, copy the style and score A* in your exam.
Our word-renowned IGCSE and AS/A Level courses had produced more than 1100 A/A* scorers worldwide. They are suitable for schooled or home-schooled candidates, and as full course or revision course.
We have the most complete past exam papers library on earth (no kidding!). Choose your exam board and download everything with one click.
Get the latest exam syllabus and plan your study accordingly.
Find out the exam registration and results released key dates for IGCSE and AS/A Level.
Check your administrative zone, the exam dates and time. For both IGCSE and AS/A Level.
Find and locate the nearest exam centre for your location.
Need more guidance? Feel free to read the homeschooling FAQs to understand more on what you can do. Alternatively, simply drop us a message at the comment box below, one of our friendly team members will attend to you within 24 hours.
We hope this article could save some lives, as we are heart broken to hear stories like the above Malaysian parents.
All the best in your marathon － just remember that we are always with you in your marathon! 💪
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United Arab Emirates
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184 responses
Hello IGCSE team!
My name’s Ember and I’m 12 years old and just finished 7th grade. I want to skip into 9th grade and prepare for my IGCSE examinations while home educating. to skip into 9th grade my goal is to complete and learn the 8th grade books of Math, Chemistry, Physics, and Biology (I believe I can do this cuz in the past years I always learned my math syllabus ahead in the summers in a matter of 1 month)
I have been told from an early 10 year old age that I have the capability to study ahead and school is keeping me behind and kinda wasting my time. My father told me about this idea a few years back of skipping 8th grade and learning the things that I should’ve learned in 8th grade over the course of the summers.
And then told me that IGCSE is practically taken over the course of 2 *schooling* years, which when narrowed down of removing holidays,summers,rainy days,snow and a few hours from the school day because in a period you only do like (in a 45 minute period) 25-30 mins of “studying” and then there’s other students keeping you behind.
So practically at the end of the day there is maybe 10-11 months of studies and 2-3 months of revision.
I think that if I can complete 8th grade subjects (the major ones as told above) in the next 2 and a half months. Then I can skip into 9th grade.
But the problem is I don’t want to do my IGCSE’s with school. I want to start home educating my self IGCSE and maybe have a few tutors and finish my syllabus and have revised in the course one year and a few months and give some of my exams in the 2021 June session and the rest in the 2021 November session. I wanted to stick to this plan and speak to my parents about my plan but…. unfortunately COVID-19 came up.
Now my parents always wanted to enroll us into a Pakistani school (we are Pakistani but live in Saudi Arabia) and we were planning on moving to Pakistan and enroll us there for a better education and also because had to move because of family issues. But because of the COVID-19 crisis we are planning to move this winter or next summer. My parents are now looking for admissions in schools in Pakistan and they found a good school there and are thinking of enrolling us this year (obviously through online classes). But as I said I want to home educate.
Now the subjects I want to take are Math, Physics, Chemistry, Computer studies, Geography, (and maybe Business and Economics) The thing is that if I go to a Pakistani university they will ask for some extra subjects that you must have taken in IGCSE examinations, they are compulsory to take for all Pakistani citizens and if you don’t want to take them your fees will be converted into dollars and will be wayyyy more expensive. The compulsory subjects are:
Islamiyat, Pakistan Studies, and Urdu (which I SUCK at btw)
The reason I want to skip ahead is for the reason as stated above is because I am being kept behind, by my class. And because there are many other examinations I want to take when I grow older and in mainly everything there is an *AGE LIMIT*
My relatives and parents have wanted to take some jobs or give some examinations but they always struggle with it and can’t give them because they have passed the age limit allowed. They always say that if someone would have told them before that they skip classes and/or graduated early they wouldn’t have to face such problems. and if i do graduate early I will have time to myself to explore my options of jobs and have time to study for later examinations after graduating college. and if you say that a child has a growing stage and all and you shouldn’t bother graduating early. I agree. But I have always been wayyyyyyy mature than my age peers and have known things earlier than most people and learned thing at a young age that people learn in highschool. I have always been responsible and have been given tasks to do at a younger age of 8 or 9 that kids get to do at 10 or 11.
I don’t know what to do. How should I convince my parents and let them know that I CAN do this?
How should I study for the IGCSE examinations myself with help?
What books should I use?
What tutors are best?
How do I complete my studies in a matter of a year?
What tips would you have for me?
which subject should I shoot for and how long does each subject usually take to study and cover? (how can I do it faster)
Can you give me revision tips and how to do it in the shortest time possibe?
and can you please explain to me the IGCSE examination requirements and how to give them?
Thanks alot!
P.S. sorry for the long comment 🙁
Hello Ember,
No problem. We are here to help. Please read our suggestions below:
1. It is best to come up with a plan and present it to your parents. You can tell them that you study better on your own and that you have proven it throughout the years. Show them that you’ve done your research and that you are responsible and mature enough to make a decision.
2. You should start by downloading the subject syllabus here: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-subjects-syllabuses/ and learn what is expected of you. List down things you are confident and not so sure about. Then continue practicing with the latest past exam papers which you can download here: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-past-exam-papers/. We suggest that you continue with the older ones that date back from 5 years. When you are practising, pay attention to the most common mistakes that you always seem to make. Make notes and revise them, so you can avoid the same mistakes in your actual exams.
3. Amazon UK has a lot of IGCSE books available. You may also check out your local bookstores for appropriate reference books.
4. You can consider our A* subscription courses. The whole programme runs for 5 months but you can keep your course active beyond its duration so you can go through the course in detail and participate in the Q&A sessions longer. Please have a read at this page to learn how it works: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-revision-courses/
5. The whole IGCSE syllabus takes approximately 1-2 years to finish. We suggest that you draw your own study timetable and plot your schedule accordingly. Start at the exam date and work backwards. Be realistic. This should be an actual timetable, which is possible, not some ideal that can never be achieved. When you subscribe to our A* courses, we provide a guided timetable for you to make your own study timetable. Check out more here: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-revision-courses/
6. We always tell our candidates to register for the exams only when they are ready. Furthermore, if you will register as a private candidate, you are right to spread out the subjects in different examination series. In this way, you can have full concentration in less subjects in one go.
7. Have you thought about what you like to specialise in college/university? This will help you decide the subjects you need to take. We suggest that you get confirmation from your preferred college/university for their subject entry requirements in accordance with the course that you would like to study.
Following your study timetable, estimate how many hours you think you need for each subject. Plan in detail each of your study sessions. Write down which topic you will be reviewing. This way, you can ensure that you will cover all the required information in the times you have allocated.
8. Practising lots of past papers is the key to success. Work on the past papers as if you are in the exam hall. Set the timer by following the fixed number of hours on the exam papers.
9. Please kindly visit your local British Council and ask for their examination requirements.
We wish you well and we hope to see you in one of our courses.
Hello IGCSE team,
Thank you so much for your advice. You helped clear my mind and I now know what I should do. Your advice was extremely helpful. I will follow your advice and hopefully will try one of your courses.
Thanks a lot!
Hello Ember,
You are very much welcome.
Should you need further assistance with our our programmes, feel free to write to us again.
My son is 12 yr old. He will be completing Grade 6 from an IB school this month.
We are evaluating the home schooling option.
I have following questions:
1) Which exam can he write for Grade 7?
2) Does he need to write any exams next 2 years?
3) Can he skip exams next 2 years, write exam directly in Grade 9?
Hello Firdaus,
Thank you for writing in.
You may want to consider the IGCSE curriculum for your homeschooling journey. IB and IGCSE have similar syllabi. You may download the subjects syllabi for comparison: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-subjects-syllabuses/. Your son just needs to familiarise himself with the exam papers and the style of questions (https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-past-exam-papers/).
Please kindly read our suggestions below:
1. There are no available Lower Secondary Checkpoint exams for homeschooled students. You have to make your own assessments to assess your son’s progress. You may use Checkpoint books to help you with this.
2. There is no fixed exam time for private candidates. You will register for official exams whenever you are ready. There are several available official exams, such as: IGCSE, O Level, GCSE, etc; under several exam boards e.g: CAIE, Edexcel, AQA, etc. If you are looking for a syllabus more suitable for an international audience, we would suggest either CAIE or Edexcel.
3. When you deem that your son is ready for the exams, register him with your local British Council. If you have chosen the IGCSE curriculum, you may search for the nearest registered Cambridge school here: https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/why-choose-us/find-a-cambridge-school/. You might want to consider enrolling him to our A* subscription courses. These courses had produced many A* candidates worldwide. Have a read at this page to learn how it works: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-revision-courses/.
If you need further clarifications, feel free to write to us again.
hi
I am 16 years old. I have just given my cambridge IGCSE exams in march from mumbai, India. My parents are planning for me to be homeschooled for the Cambridge A and AS level program. so, I wish to know the following,
1. Is it possible for me to give the A and AS level exams at any exam centre after being homeschooled?
2. If yes, what is the minimum number of subject exams I need to appear?
3. Is English language 9093 mandatory to appear for, as most of the schools in mumbai are making the subject mandatory.
thankyou!
Hello Piya,
Thank you for writing in. Please kindly read our answers to your questions below:
1. Yes, you may register as a private candidate. Your local British Council is the best place to sit for your exams or you may locate any other Cambridge registered schools in India that accept private candidates. You may search for the Cambridge registered schools here: https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/i-want-to/find-a-cambridge-school/.
2. As for how many A-Level subjects you need, we suggest you check with the university you have in mind for their entry requirements. Students typically study four subjects at AS-level and three subjects at A-level. The standard admission requirement for UK universities is three A-level subjects.
3. English language is usually part of the required subjects for most of the English speaking universities. However, we suggest that you check with your local British Council if this applies to you.
If you need further clarifications, feel free to write to us again.
hello,
I’m a 14 year old. can i get home schooled and write o level igcse? is there any online teachers u can recommend? and what is the minimum no.of subjects i should take in o level?
Hi Iris,
First of all, we’d like to clarify that O-level and IGCSE are of equivalent qualifications. You choose either one of them. Furthermore, you should decide on the subjects based on what you want to study in the university. We strongly suggest you check with the university you wish to apply to as each university and its programs has their own set of entry requirements.
You may consider subscribing to our online Revision Course. These courses had produced many A* candidates worldwide. You can find out more here: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-revision-courses/.
Lastly, we advise the candidates to register only when then are ready. As a private candidate, your local British Council is the best place to sit for your exams. Alternatively, you can also locate any registered Cambridge schools that accepts private candidates. You may search Cambridge schools near your area here: https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/i-want-to/find-a-cambridge-school/
If you have further questions, feel free to write to us again. Thank you.
Hi ,
we are from India. My son is 9 years old and gifted. He is preparing slowly at his own pace . He wants to appear IGCSE Mathematics subject only to test his knowledge and skills. Because he loves mathematics. His school is cambridge registered school and they do teach IGCSE at higher age group for 15 years students . But school does not know the process of how to allow 9 years old to write IGCSE only mathematics subject paper.
1) Could you please let know what is the process for him to write IGCSE mathematics that we can follow up with school ( because school department said they do not know the process )
2) What are the books available for primary, secondary and IGCSE preparation students in india.
Hello Kumar,
Thank you for writing in. Please kindly read our suggestions below:
1. The formal requirement is candidates must be at least aged 14 to sit for the exams. However, we have also experienced some countries do accept private candidates registration below age 14. We suggest that you check with your local British Council.
2. For reference books, you may want to search on Amazon UK site. For IGCSE preparations, you may want to register your son with online courses here: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-revision-courses/
If you need further clarifications, please do not hesitate to write to us again. Thank you.
Hi there,
I have two kids 11 and 8. They have studied at different school/ countries. Now, we are traveling a lot and I think homeschooling would be the best solution. I would like to get some information about Cambridge / IGCSE programs.
Thank you.
Hello Naglaa,
IGCSE is an international qualification for 14 to 16 year olds. The whole IGCSE syllabus takes approximately 1-2 years to finish but there is no hard rule that candidates must study IGCSE for a two year period. The 2 year period is usually for schooled students, following schools calendar plus holidays etc. As private candidates, you may judge your children’s readiness to sit for the exams independently.
You decide the subjects, together with your children, based on what your children want to study in the future. You must understand that, there are no Primary exams nor Lower Secondary exams for private candidates. Checkpoint exam is only available in Cambridge School for schooled candidates. As such, If you have decided to homeschool your children you must continue the homeschooling until IGCSE level. For more information, please read this article: https://www.skolatis.com/what-is-igcse/
You may find all the relevant and IGCSE exam resources on our site.
For IGCSE syllabi, please download here: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-subjects-syllabuses/
For IGCSE past exam papers, please download here: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-past-exam-papers/
Here are our worldwide renown A* courses which you may consider enrolling: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-revision-courses/
To know and understand what is an A* answer like, please get the model answers here: https://www.skolatis.com/igcse-exam-resources/
To get practice papers marked by our examiners, send it here: https://www.skolatis.com/mark-your-papers/
If you have further questions, feel free to write to us.
Hi,
I am thinking of home schooling my 3 year old daughter. To start with I want to home school the pre primary section and if I am able to continue I will go forward and proceed.
I am planning a mix of IGCSC and Cambridge board. How do I choose the subjects? For pre primary what’s the content children that age can grasp? Where do I get the study materials? Does home schooling involve real visuals?
Hello Revathy,
Kindly read the article above to guide you with the homeschooling process. You decide the subjects, together with your child, based on what your child want to study in the future. You must understand that, there are no Primary exams nor Lower Secondary exams for private candidates. Checkpoint exam is only available in Cambridge School for schooled candidates. As such, If you have decided to homeschool your child you must continue the homeschooling until IGCSE level.
You may want to contact the exam board, CAIE, and ask them for the pre-primary curriculum. CAIE’s website is: https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/
Hope this helps.
Hi my name is Laura
I have done 2 of my O levels in the 10th grade ( passed ) but the I left school ( dropped out in the 11th grade )
I have done 7 subjects through the British council. I have also done my A levels through them. Is my education certified? Am I considered high school pass, even though I haven’t done my 11th grade in a school rather through the British council
Please help me !
Hi Laura,
You do not need to go to a formal school in order to finish your secondary education. Homeschooling is recognised as such.
Normally, after completing A-level, students proceed to university.
Hi,
Do i need to take year 9 or can i start igcse in year 10
Thanks
Hello Lana,
If you are a schooled student, you ought to follow the schooling year. If you are a private candidate, you could start IGCSE programme whenever you are ready.
The whole IGCSE syllabus takes roughly 1-2 years to finish. You are free to spread out your exams in different examination series.
Hello, my son is almost 13. We live in Sweden and he attends an IB school. Unfortunately we are not satisfied with the school delivery of the IB programme, many children are graduating without passing grades and are not being accepted into the DP. As you mentioned home schooling is not permitted in Sweden and relocating to attend another IB school is not an option for us. One solution is to top up my son’s education with IGCSE. The curiculum is easier than IB but more focused than the tuition he is currently receiving at school. He attended UK school upto and including year 5 then studied pyp5, myp1 & 2 in sweden and will enter myp3 in August. I am thinking he can afford 1 hour of study to IGCSE per night without compromising his commitment to IN work. Perhaphs one subject per year, there is no rush? My question is should I start him on IGCSE straight away (maths & science are the priorities and his favourite subjects) or year 9? What would you recomend. He is very very bright but lacks focus.
Hello Clare,
Thank you for writing in.
We would suggest you to enrol your son into a registered Cambridge School. You may locate the schools here: https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/why-choose-us/find-a-cambridge-school/ . Alternatively, if you wish to follow the home education route, you may also locate (from the link) any registered Cambridge School which accept private candidates to sit for their exams at the school.
If we understood your question correctly: “… without compromising his commitment to IN work.”, you intend to start him on IGCSE besides his regular IB school’s work. In this case, one subject per examination series is quite ok. There are 2 examination series in a year: June series and November series. You may register one subject per examination series, depending on his readiness.
IB and IGCSE have similar syllabi. You may download the subjects syllabi for comparison: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-subjects-syllabuses/ . Your son just need to familiarise himself with the exam papers and the style of questions.