One of our International GCSE subjects is Physics and we have been using the Collins Edexcel International GCSE Physics Student book so I thought it was about time that I shared some pictures and thoughts on the student book for those of you who are looking for Physics resources. First of all let me start the post by saying this was a Free book that we were given and we are not using it in isolation. In fact Physics is the one subject where we are using outside help and that outside help has been the brilliant lessons given by Theatre of Science. But as much as I have been incredibly grateful that I discovered the Theatre of Science lessons I do think you still need to have a student book for your kiddo to refer back to and this is the one we are using.

First things first. In terms of the specification and what you need to cover for Physics, all the topics are here. So this would be the only student book that you would be required to buy (the contents of this book match the Edexcel spec, there is no issue with this at all).

Format wise I actually really like this book. We (my daughter and myself) find the pages VERY easy to read and digest. The information is broken down into smaller bite size pieces of information which prevents it from becoming overwhelming (because lets be honest Physics is one of those subjects that can be a bit overwhelming at times, well we think it can be).

And they have included lots of worked examples throughout all of the chapters (loved that these are scattered in chapters as the points are discussed and are not just at the end of the chapter).

Questions and Answers – okay this is where I think this book falls a bit short. They have small questions scattered throughout the chapters (which I like) and for these they have included the answers at the back of the book. But the “End of Topic Questions” i.e the ones at the end of each chapter they have chosen not to include the answers for these. The answers for these are included in their teachers pack (at a costs of £115, which I personally think is very expensive for home educators). And really at this level you cannot expect the student to work through questions without having access to the answers. So if you do use this book then you will need to give your kiddo extra questions (where they can check their answers against sample answers). For those of you wondering, we are using the CGP Edexcel International GCSE Physics Workbook as well and also the Physics and Maths Tutor website for our questions.

They have also included a chapter called – The International GCSE examination. This chapter although only a few pages long may be quite useful to those of you who are new to helping your kids with IGCSE exams. I really liked the few pages where they highlight words that are often used in questions and then explain what is required.

Another interesting chapter is Developing Experimental Skills. Again this is a chapter which home educated kids might find incredibly useful.

Okay so all in all do I recommend this book? I personally think your kid needs a student book, one that explains the topics and has good worked examples in it. Which this one does. I also think your kids needs questions to practice with but I actually like using the questions out of the CGP workbook and from the Physics and Maths Tutors website, so although I was irritated that the publishers did not include all the answers (this is always something that grates me) it would not put me off buying this book as I would end up buying the workbook and using the website regardless of whether they had included the answers or not.

Also some of you may be wondering how this book compares to the CGP Edexcel Internal GCSE Physics Revision Book (I know this book is very popular). The Collins book is a LOT more detailed and includes lots of worked examples. It explains the concepts in more detail. The CGP book is a summary, it truly is a Revision book as it does not have the detailed explanations or examples. Personally I would go for the detailed student book and if you want a summary book then get the CGP.

The student book that I have mentioned in this post can be bought directly from the Collins website or you can go to Amazon – Collins Edexcel International GCSE Physics Student Book (this is an affiliate link).

Admin – I was given a copy of this book for free, this does not affect my opinions expressed in this post. I do include Affiliate links. If you follow an affiliate link and go on to purchase that product, I will be paid a very small commission, however your cost will remain the same. I only include affiliate links for products that we use and recommend.