Cambridge · Syllabus guide
Cambridge ICT: what the papers actually assess
Every component, its duration, its mark total and its weighting: taken from the current published specification rather than summarised from memory.
- Syllabus 0417
- Syllabus 9626
The applied route: spreadsheets, databases, document production and web authoring to a professional standard, plus understanding how technology is used in organisations. Most of the grade is earned at a computer.
Cambridge International runs the IGCSE, O Level and AS & A Level qualifications taken by most British-curriculum schools in the Gulf. Its Computer Science and IT syllabuses are revised on a three-year cycle, and each revision changes what the papers ask for. That cycle is the reason this page states which version it describes: material written for an older specification can be actively misleading, and a student preparing for the wrong paper structure is preparing badly.
Cambridge IGCSE Information and Communication Technology (0417)
One theory paper and two practical tests. Sixty per cent of the qualification is earned at a computer, producing documents, databases, presentations, spreadsheets and web pages to a specification.
How it is assessed
All candidates take three components, all externally assessed. Paper 1 is a 1 hour 30 minute theory paper worth 40%. Paper 2 and Component 3 are practical tests of 2 hours 15 minutes each, worth 30% apiece. Both practical components also require the skills in sections 11-16 to be demonstrated throughout.
| Component | Duration | Marks | Weight | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 Theory |
1 hour 30 minutes | 80 | 40% | Sections 1-21 of the subject content All questions compulsory, externally assessed. |
| Paper 2 Document Production, Databases and Presentations |
2 hours 15 minutes | 70 | 30% | Applications in sections 17, 18 and 19, applying skills from sections 11-16 Practical test. All tasks compulsory, externally assessed. |
| Component 3 Spreadsheets and Website Authoring |
2 hours 15 minutes | 70 | 30% | Applications in sections 20 and 21, applying skills from sections 11-16 Practical test. All tasks compulsory, externally assessed. |
Where marks are usually lost
The practical components are marked against evidence, not intention. Students lose marks for correct work that was not saved in the required format, not named as instructed, or not screenshotted as proof. Working through a full past practical paper under timed conditions, then marking it against the published mark scheme, is the single most effective preparation.
Subject content
- 1. Types and components of computer systems
- 2. Input and output devices
- 3. Storage devices and media
- 4. Networks and the effects of using them
- 5. The effects of using IT
- 6. ICT applications
- 7. The systems life cycle
- 8. Safety and security
- 9. Audience
- 10. Communication
- 11. File management
- 12. Images
- 13. Layout
- 14. Styles
- 15. Proofing
- 16. Graphs and charts
- 17. Document production
- 18. Databases
- 19. Presentations
- 20. Spreadsheets
- 21. Website authoring
Assessment details above are taken from the Cambridge International syllabus for 2026, 2027 and 2028. Official syllabus page · specification PDF. If anything here disagrees with the official document, the official document is right; tell us and we will correct it.
Cambridge International AS & A Level Information Technology (9626)
Four papers split evenly between theory and practical work. Half of every stage is assessed at a computer, on tasks including data analysis, animation, graphics and programming for the web.
How it is assessed
At AS Level candidates take Papers 1 and 2, each worth 50% of the AS. At A Level candidates take all four papers, each worth 25%. All papers are externally assessed and all questions are compulsory. The practical papers are sat in a scheduled one-day window.
| Component | Duration | Marks | Weight | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 Theory |
1 hour 45 minutes | 70 | 50% of AS Level · 25% of A Level | Sections 1-11 of the subject content Written paper, externally assessed. All questions compulsory. |
| Paper 2 Practical |
2 hours 30 minutes | 90 | 50% of AS Level · 25% of A Level | Sections 8-11, applying knowledge from sections 1-7 Practical test, externally assessed. All questions compulsory. |
| Paper 3 Advanced Theory |
1 hour 45 minutes | 70 | 25% of A Level | Sections 12-21 of the subject content Written paper, externally assessed. All questions compulsory. |
| Paper 4 Advanced Practical |
2 hours 30 minutes | 90 | 25% of A Level | Sections 17-21, applying all subject content Practical test, externally assessed. May also include tasks from sections 8-10 in a problem-solving context. |
Where marks are usually lost
The practical papers carry more marks than the theory papers and reward speed built on familiarity. Students who have to think about how to do a lookup, a pivot or a mail merge run out of time; students who have done each of them twenty times do not. The theory papers, meanwhile, ask for reasoned judgement rather than recall, and short unexplained answers cap the grade.
Subject content
- 1. Data processing and information
- 2. Hardware and software
- 3. Monitoring and control
- 4. Algorithms and flowcharts
- 5. eSecurity
- 6. The digital divide
- 7. Expert systems
- 8. Spreadsheets
- 9. Modelling
- 10. Database and file concepts
- 11. Video and audio editing
- 12. IT in society
- 13. New and emerging technologies
- 14. Communications technology
- 15. Project management
- 16. System life cycle
- 17. Data analysis and visualisation
- 18. Mail merge
- 19. Graphics creation
- 20. Animation
- 21. Programming for the web
Assessment details above are taken from the Cambridge International syllabus for 2025, 2026 and 2027. Official syllabus page · specification PDF. If anything here disagrees with the official document, the official document is right; tell us and we will correct it.
Getting past papers
From Cambridge International directly, through your school, or via the School Support Hub if your school has access. We deliberately do not host past papers here: they are Cambridge’s copyright, and the official versions are the ones you want in any case, because they come with the matching mark schemes and examiner reports.
The examiner reports are the underused resource. They say, in plain language and for that specific series, exactly what candidates got wrong. Reading two of them is worth more than a month of general revision.
Questions about Cambridge ICT
How is Cambridge ICT assessed?
At IGCSE, one written theory paper worth 40% and two practical tests worth 30% each. At AS and A Level, alternating theory and practical papers, with the practical components carrying more marks than the theory ones. The balance towards practical work is the defining feature of the subject.
Do the practical exams happen on a fixed date?
The practical components are sat in a window rather than at one global instant, and schools schedule within it. Cambridge publishes the window in the timetable for each series: your school's exams officer will have the exact date.
Is 9626 a natural continuation from 0417?
It is a reasonable one, but it is a real step up. The A Level adds data analysis and visualisation, project management, animation and programming for the web, and the theory papers ask for reasoned judgement rather than description. Students who coasted through the IGCSE on practical ability tend to find Paper 3 uncomfortable.
Where can I read the official syllabus?
Every syllabus on this site links to its page on the Cambridge International website, and where a direct specification PDF is published we link to that too. If anything here disagrees with the official document, the official document is right: tell us and we will fix the page.
Is ICT easier than Computer Science?
No, it is a different kind of difficult. Most of the IGCSE is assessed at a computer under strict time pressure, and the practical papers are marked on evidence rather than intention: correct work saved or named wrongly scores nothing.
How is practical work taught online?
The student works on their own machine while sharing their screen, which is closer to exam conditions than watching a demonstration. Timed past papers marked together against the published scheme is what changes results here.
Does it matter that our computer is a Mac and school uses Windows?
It can, particularly for spreadsheet function differences and file format requirements. Preparation should be done in the environment the student will actually sit the exam in, with the differences flagged explicitly rather than discovered on the day.