Are ELS's IGCSE and GED classes online?

Yes. All of ELS's secondary programmes — the Grade 8 pre-IGCSE year, the IGCSE programme and GED preparation — are taught online only, live on Zoom, so students can join from anywhere in Malaysia.

How long is the IGCSE programme?

The IGCSE programme at ELS runs over three years, covering English, Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, ICT and Computer Science.

What if my child is not ready for IGCSE?

Every student takes a placement test before starting. A student who does not yet meet the standard for IGCSE joins our Grade 8 pre-IGCSE class, also taught online, which follows the Cambridge Checkpoint syllabus to build foundations in mathematics, science and English first.

Who can get into an online class?

Only people with an elsystem.org account. Our Zoom classes are restricted to that domain, so nobody from outside ELS can join a meeting or walk into a class in session.

Are there any exams in person?

Yes. For transparency and accountability, students sit four physical tests each year — Tri-Review 1, Mid-Term Exams, Tri-Review 2 and Annual Exams — at our six physical locations.

Do online students ever meet in person?

Yes. Besides the four physical exams each year at our six physical locations, online students take part in in-person activities, including the Science, Arts & Crafts Expo and the upcoming Salam Quiz, which has cash prizes.

Math Lab is ELS's free online tutoring service for our students. Outstanding and honours students tutor their classmates, so both sides learn: the tutor by explaining, and the student by getting help from a peer.

Empower Learning System · Secondary & Higher Secondary

Online Secondary

IGCSE and GED, taught live online across Malaysia

Every secondary programme at Empower Learning System is taught on Online Secondary: a pre-IGCSE foundation year, the three-year Cambridge IGCSE programme, and GED preparation. Classes run live throughout the day, taught by qualified teachers and supervised room by room — from wherever in Malaysia a student lives.

Three programmes, one campus

Pre-IGCSE · Grade 8

Foundation year

For students who are not yet ready for IGCSE. Grade 8 follows the Cambridge Checkpoint syllabus and builds solid foundations in mathematics, science and English, so that IGCSE starts on firm ground rather than on gaps.

Cambridge IGCSE · 3 years

IGCSE

An internationally recognised secondary qualification, taught over three years. Subjects: English, Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, ICT and Computer Science.

High-school equivalency

GED

Four subject tests certifying high-school-level education, for students who are past school age or whose schooling was interrupted. Taught online to students anywhere in Malaysia.

About our GED programme

IGCSE subjects

English
Mathematics
Biology
Physics
Chemistry
ICT
Computer Science

Every student starts with a placement test

Before a student joins, we find out where they actually are. The placement test decides whether they are ready to begin IGCSE. A student who is not yet ready is not turned away: they join our Grade 8 pre-IGCSE class, also taught online, which follows the Cambridge Checkpoint syllabus and builds the foundations in mathematics, science and English that IGCSE depends on. They move up when they are ready, not before.

How online classes actually run

Live, in Zoom breakout rooms

Each class meets live in its own Zoom breakout room. This is a real lesson with a teacher, not a recording a student is left alone with.

In session all day

Classes run back to back throughout the day, so the campus is always in session — much like walking the corridors of a building, only online.

Moderators in every room

Moderators move continuously from room to room, checking that every class is running as it should and answering students’ questions along the way.

ELS students attending a live online class on Zoom — A live class in session on Online Secondary.

Closed to anyone outside ELS

Parents rightly ask who else can see their child online. The answer is nobody outside the centre. Our Zoom classes are restricted to the elsystem.org domain, so only a person signed in with an ELS account can enter a meeting or join a class in session. A link passed on to a stranger does not let them in.

Qualified teachers, properly equipped

Every teacher on Online Secondary is experienced and holds a bachelor’s degree as a minimum. Teaching well online takes the right equipment, so each works with a high-speed internet connection, a desktop computer or laptop, and a digital writing pad with a stylus — which is what lets them work through a problem on the Zoom whiteboard the way they would on a classroom board.

Worked through live

Equations, diagrams and working are drawn out in real time on the Zoom whiteboard, so students see the method, not just the answer.

The best free resources

Lessons draw on interactive science and maths simulations from CK-12, Khan Academy and carefully chosen YouTube videos, so a concept can be seen working, not only described.

Math Lab: students teaching students

Math Lab is our free online tutoring service for ELS students, with a twist: the tutors are students too. Outstanding and honours students are given the chance to tutor their classmates.

Both sides gain. The student being helped gets support from someone who learned the same material recently, and the tutor deepens their own understanding by having to explain it. It is collaborative learning with a social side too — part of the social and emotional learning that matters as much online as it does in a classroom.

Four exams a year, in person

Online learning should not mean unchecked learning. For transparency and accountability, students sit four physical tests every year at our six physical locations, so progress is measured under exam conditions rather than taken on trust.

1
Tri-Review 1
First checkpoint of the year
2
Mid-Term Exams
Halfway through the year
3
Tri-Review 2
Second checkpoint
4
Annual Exams
End of the academic year

ELS students sitting an in-person written exam at desks — An in-person exam at one of our physical locations.

Online classes, real-world activities

Studying online does not mean studying alone. Our online students also come together in person for activities through the year.

Science, Arts & Crafts Expo

An in-person expo where online students show their science, arts and crafts work.

Coming up

Salam Quiz

A quiz competition for our students, with cash prizes.

From the Science, Arts & Crafts Expo

A student-built periodic table of the elements with a wire-loop circuit game and a lit bulb — A hand-built periodic table of the elements, wired into a working circuit game.

Two framed pencil portrait drawings made by students — Framed pencil portraits from the arts display.

A student-built model volcano erupting with pink foam — A model volcano, mid-eruption.

A student-built miniature playground with a swing, a pond and houses made of coloured craft sticks — A miniature playground, its houses and fencing built from coloured craft sticks.

A student diorama of deep-sea bioluminescence with an anglerfish and the luciferin reaction written out — A deep-sea bioluminescence diorama, with the chemistry of the glow written out.

Questions about Online Secondary

Are ELS's IGCSE and GED classes online?: Yes. All of ELS's secondary programmes — the Grade 8 pre-IGCSE year, the IGCSE programme and GED preparation — are taught online only, live on Zoom, so students can join from anywhere in Malaysia.
How long is the IGCSE programme?: The IGCSE programme at ELS runs over three years, covering English, Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, ICT and Computer Science.
What if my child is not ready for IGCSE?: Every student takes a placement test before starting. A student who does not yet meet the standard for IGCSE joins our Grade 8 pre-IGCSE class, also taught online, which follows the Cambridge Checkpoint syllabus to build foundations in mathematics, science and English first.
Who can get into an online class?: Only people with an elsystem.org account. Our Zoom classes are restricted to that domain, so nobody from outside ELS can join a meeting or walk into a class in session.
Are there any exams in person?: Yes. For transparency and accountability, students sit four physical tests each year — Tri-Review 1, Mid-Term Exams, Tri-Review 2 and Annual Exams — at our six physical locations.
Do online students ever meet in person?: Yes. Besides the four physical exams each year at our six physical locations, online students take part in in-person activities, including the Science, Arts & Crafts Expo and the upcoming Salam Quiz, which has cash prizes.
What is Math Lab?: Math Lab is ELS's free online tutoring service for our students. Outstanding and honours students tutor their classmates, so both sides learn: the tutor by explaining, and the student by getting help from a peer.

See where it leads in Meerab Butt’s story: IGCSE with ELS online, then a foundation programme and a degree in Computer Science.