Human BiologyInternational GCSE

You don’t need any previous qualifications to take this course.

If English is your second language, we recommend you have an IELTS 5.5 or equivalent, but we’re happy to review your case on an individual basis.

This course will teach you the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Human Biology (specification 4HB1).

You’ll learn about:

• Cells and tissues
• Biological molecules
• Movement of substances into and out of cells
• Bones, muscles and joints
• Coordination
• Nutrition and energy
• Respiration
• Gas exchange
• Internal transport
• Homeostatic mechanisms
• Reproduction and heredity
• Disease

For full details of what you’ll learn, download the IGCSE Human Biology course guide.

Please note that you’re responsible for booking your exams.

You’ll arrange to sit them at a school or college roughly 6 months before your chosen exam date.

The IGCSE Human Biology (4HB1) exams consist of two written papers:

• Paper 1: 4HB1/01 – 1 hour 45 minute exam
• Paper 2: 4HB1/02 – 1 hour 45 minute exam

Your exam fees aren't included in the course cost as you'll pay these directly to your exam centre.

We’re the world’s most experienced online learning provider, having been pioneers in flexible learning for 130 years.

We're rated Excellent from more than 10,000 independent student reviews.

We make it easy to shape learning around your life with our flexible schedule, unlimited support, and interest-free* payment plans.

That's why every year, we help thousands of students like you get the International GCSEs they need to succeed.

They’re offered in many independent and private schools in the UK, and are recognised globally as equivalent to GCSEs.

We teach them for some subjects because they’re assessed mainly through exams, not coursework, so they’re better suited to online learning.

Yes, it’s exactly the same.

You’ll sit the same exams at the same time as all the other International GCSE students in the UK, and you’ll receive the same results, transcript and qualification.

Your International GCSE will be accepted by colleges, universities and employers worldwide as equivalent to a GCSE.

Right away! There’s no need to wait until September to enrol – you can begin your course at any time.

Once you enrol, you’ll be able to log in to your course and get started by the next working day.

• Unlimited support
• 24/7 access to the Student Community, your all-in-one online learning platform
• Interactive online learning broken down into easy-to-follow units
• Practice tests and mock exams marked by your tutor
• Student forums so you can connect and share advice with other Biology students
• Friendly student services team, so you’re never more than a message or phone call away from a helping hand

You'll also have unlimited lifetime access to our Career Hub, giving you thousands of resources to help you impress employers, master critical business skills, and build your dream career. It includes:

• A CV and cover letter builder
• An interview simulator
• An elevator pitch builder
• Career and work psychology assessments
• In-depth industry and employer profiles
• 350+ employer films with practical advice from hiring managers
• 1000+ short courses, articles and videos on key career skills like negotiating a raise and leading a team

You can take a sneak peek at the Career Hub by signing up for free here.§

Roughly 6 months before your chosen exam date, you should book your place at an exam centre to take the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Biology (4BI1) exams.

Your exam centre could be a school or college that's also submitting its own students for the exam, or it could be a private exam centre. Our partner centre, Tutors & Exams, has five exam venues across England and offers various discounts to ICS Learn students. 

Edexcel publish a list of exam centres that accept private candidates. This won’t cover every available centre, so if there’s nothing shown in your area, we recommend contacting local schools and colleges directly.

Your exam fees aren’t included in the course cost as they’re paid directly to the exam centre. They’ll vary depending on which centre you choose.

Student Course Summaries are monthly reports we create (per subject) for both students and parents who want to remain in the know with any of the following throughout their course: 

• Access History: tells you how many days within the month the student has logged in and how many days they've viewed the course. 
• Submitted Assignments/Mock Exams: documents what assignments have been submitted, as well as when it was submitted, how many times the assignment has been attempted, and what grade they received. 
• Help Requests: this will show the correspondence between the student and the tutor, any questions that have been asked and what the tutor's response was. 
• Course News Forum: this is where students and parents can find Tutor Comments and updates on things such as Live Webinar sessions, or exam booking info.

The fee for this monthly report is a one-off price, no matter how many courses a student is enrolled in, and the fee can be integrated into your flexible payment plan. Keep in mind, however, that this fee is entirely separate from the multibuy discount. 

If you’d like to pay in full, you can enrol online using the ‘Add to Basket’ button at the top of the page.

If you’d like to set up an interest-free* payment plan, get in touch with our International GCSE Advisors on +44 141 404 6595.

If you have any disabilities which you think might affect your studies or assessments, please tell your Course Advisor before you enrol so we can advise you on whether reasonable adjustments can be made to accommodate your needs.

Your payments will be charged in GBP. The monthly payments listed in your local currency are an estimate based on the current exchange rate from xe.com.

This means that the amount you’ll pay each month in your local currency may vary based on the current exchange rate.

Your bank may use a different exchange rate from the one listed here, or charge a fee for converting your payments into GBP; we’d advise that you speak to your bank directly for more details.