This Cambridge IGCSE Biology revision plan is written for Nigerian students sitting 0610 in the May/June 2027 series. It runs week by week from mid-November 2026 to the first paper on 26 April 2027, then through the practical and multiple-choice papers that follow. It is built on the 2026–2028 syllabus and the final June 2027 timetable, so you can copy the dates straight into your diary.

Key dates for 0610 in May/June 2027

Cambridge published the final June 2027 timetable in November 2026. The 0610 dates are the same in administrative zones 4 and 5; only the session (morning or afternoon) differs, so check yours with your school or British Council (Cambridge June 2027 timetable, zone 4; zone 5).

Paper	Who sits it	Length	Date
Paper 3 Theory (Core)	Core	1 hour 15 minutes	Monday 26 April 2027
Paper 4 Theory (Extended)	Extended	1 hour 15 minutes	Monday 26 April 2027
Paper 5 Practical Test	Either 5 or 6	1 hour 15 minutes	Tuesday 11 May 2027
Paper 6 Alternative to Practical	Either 5 or 6	1 hour	Tuesday 11 May 2027
Paper 1 Multiple Choice (Core)	Core	45 minutes	Tuesday 8 June 2027
Paper 2 Multiple Choice (Extended)	Extended	45 minutes	Tuesday 8 June 2027

The order matters. The theory paper, worth half your grade, comes first. Your content review has to be finished by mid-April, not in May.

How 0610 is assessed (2026–2028 syllabus)

Every candidate sits three papers (0610 syllabus 2026–2028):

Component	Marks	Weighting
Paper 1 (Core) or Paper 2 (Extended): 40 multiple-choice questions	40	30%
Paper 3 (Core) or Paper 4 (Extended): short-answer and structured questions	80	50%
Paper 5 (Practical Test) or Paper 6 (Alternative to Practical)	40	20%

Core candidates can achieve grades C to G. Extended candidates study the Supplement content too and can achieve A* to G. If you want A Level sciences, medicine or another science-based course, plan for Extended. Cambridge updated the syllabus document in August 2026 (version 3), so make sure your copy is current.

The syllabus has 21 topics. The plan below follows them in syllabus order, which also builds ideas in a sensible sequence: you meet enzymes before digestion, and transport before gas exchange.

The weekly routine

Aim for four to five hours of Biology a week, split into three or four sessions. In each topic week:

1. Read and make notes from the syllabus learning objectives, not from a textbook chapter. The objectives tell you exactly what can be asked.
2. Test yourself the next day with flashcards or a short quiz before looking at your notes.
3. Do 20–30 marks of exam-style questions on the topic, then mark them with the mark scheme and write down every point you missed.
4. Spend ten minutes on last week’s topic so nothing fades.

Keep one notebook page called “marks I lost” and add to it every week. By March it becomes your most useful revision sheet.

Week-by-week plan: November 2026 to April 2027

Phase 1: first pass through the content (16 November – 14 February)

Week	Dates	Topics
1	16–22 Nov	1 Characteristics and classification of living organisms; 2 Organisation of the organism
2	23–29 Nov	3 Movement into and out of cells; 4 Biological molecules
3	30 Nov – 6 Dec	5 Enzymes; 6 Plant nutrition
4	7–13 Dec	7 Human nutrition; 8 Transport in plants
5	14–20 Dec	9 Transport in animals; 10 Diseases and immunity
6–7	21 Dec – 3 Jan	Holiday weeks: flashcards and one short quiz on topics 1–10
8	4–10 Jan	11 Gas exchange in humans; 12 Respiration; 13 Excretion in humans
9	11–17 Jan	14 Coordination and response; 15 Drugs
10	18–24 Jan	16 Reproduction
11	25–31 Jan	17 Inheritance
12	1–7 Feb	18 Variation and selection; 19 Organisms and their environment
13	8–14 Feb	20 Human influences on ecosystems; 21 Biotechnology and genetic modification

Coordination and response, Reproduction and Inheritance are the three longest sections of the syllabus, which is why weeks 9 to 11 give each of them most or all of a week.

If you are already behind, merge the holiday weeks into the plan rather than skipping topics. Every topic can appear on Paper 4.

Phase 2: mixed practice and practical skills (15 February – 21 March)

Week	Dates	Focus
14	15–21 Feb	Mixed questions on topics 1–7; your weakest three topics from the “marks I lost” page
15	22–28 Feb	Mixed questions on topics 8–14; Paper 6 skills: drawing and labelling, magnification
16	1–7 Mar	Mixed questions on topics 15–21; Paper 6 skills: tables, graphs, identifying variables
17	8–14 Mar	One full Paper 4 (or Paper 3) untimed, marked strictly; Paper 6 skills: planning an investigation
18	15–21 Mar	One full Paper 6 timed; reteach the two weakest topics

Paper 6 tests the experimental skills in Section 4 of the syllabus. Even if your centre offers Paper 5, practising Paper 6 questions is the fastest way to learn what examiners expect in a table, a graph or a method. Our guide to Alternative to Practical skills for 0610 sets out each skill.

Phase 3: timed papers (22 March – 25 April)

Week	Dates	Focus
19	22–28 Mar	Two timed Paper 4s (or Paper 3s), 1 hour 15 minutes each
20	29 Mar – 4 Apr	Two timed theory papers; one Paper 2 (or Paper 1)
21	5–11 Apr	Two timed theory papers; redo every question from the “marks I lost” page
22	12–18 Apr	One timed theory paper; definitions and key processes from all 21 topics
23	19–25 Apr	Light review only; one final theory paper early in the week, then rest before Monday

When you mark a timed paper, look at how the mark scheme awards each point. On the May/June 2026 Paper 4, the six-mark question gave one mark per correct, relevant point, so short separate points scored better than one general paragraph. Our 0610 May/June 2026 paper breakdown shows how this worked on each paper last year.

After the theory paper (26 April – 8 June)

• 27 April – 10 May: Paper 5 or 6 focus. Do one full practical paper every two or three days and review the planning question each time.
• 12 May – 7 June: multiple-choice practice. Do one 40-question paper in 45 minutes at least twice a week, and review every question you got wrong, including the ones you guessed right.

The gap before the multiple-choice paper is long. Use it, but keep your other subjects moving, since most of your IGCSE papers will fall in the same weeks.

Topics and skills that deserve extra time

Four areas are worth extra practice because they run across several papers:

• Calculations. Magnification, percentage change and rate calculations appear across the papers. Practise them weekly from Phase 2 onwards.
• Practical vocabulary. Words like independent variable, control and reliability need exact use. Paper 6 marks the wording.
• Graphs. Plot points accurately, label both axes with units and use a sensible scale.
• Enzymes and the processes that depend on them. Digestion, respiration and germination questions often come back to enzyme action. Our page on how enzymes are marked in the 0610 exam shows the wording that scores.

For the full topic map, past-paper practice and the most common mistakes in 0610, see our Cambridge IGCSE Biology 0610 topics, past papers and common mistakes guide. For what came up most often in recent papers, read the 0610 exam trends analysis.

If you are a private candidate

Private candidates in Nigeria usually enter through British Council Nigeria, and late entry is expensive. In the October/November 2026 series, IGCSE Physics cost ₦221,400 at the normal stage and ₦566,800 at late stage 2 (British Council Nigeria). Confirm whether your centre offers Paper 5 or Paper 6 before you enter, and see our guide to Cambridge IGCSE fees in Nigeria for the deadlines.

Revision resources and what they cost

The Tutopiya Learning Portal has 0610 notes, practice questions, quizzes and past papers, organised by syllabus code, so you can follow this plan topic by topic. Much of it is free. Premium is one price per learner for every subject: S$50 a year, about ₦52,500, or S$10 a month, about ₦10,500 (at about ₦1,347 to the US dollar, the official rate on 6 November 2026 reported by TechEconomy, and S$1 ≈ US$0.78). A year of Premium costs less than a quarter of one normal-stage IGCSE entry.

Start free

• Open the free IGCSE Biology 0610 section of the Learning Portal and start Week 1 with topic 1.
• Create a free account to save your progress and use quizzes and flashcards.
• Premium unlocks every subject for S$50 a year (about ₦52,500).
• If you want one-to-one help with the hardest topics, book a free trial lesson with an IGCSE Biology tutor.

Frequently asked questions

When is the IGCSE Biology exam in May/June 2027? +

On Cambridge's final June 2027 timetable, the theory papers (0610 Paper 3 and Paper 4) are on Monday 26 April 2027, the practical papers (Paper 5 and Paper 6) on Tuesday 11 May 2027 and the multiple-choice papers (Paper 1 and Paper 2) on Tuesday 8 June 2027. Whether each sits in the morning or afternoon depends on your centre's administrative zone, so confirm with your school or British Council.

How many topics are in IGCSE Biology 0610? +

The 2026–2028 syllabus has 21 topics, from Characteristics and classification of living organisms to Biotechnology and genetic modification. Extended candidates study the Core content plus the Supplement material in each topic.

How long should I revise for IGCSE Biology? +

Starting in mid-November gives about 23 weeks before the first 0610 paper on 26 April 2027. Four to five focused hours a week is enough to cover all 21 topics once, practise mixed questions and sit several timed papers, provided you keep to the plan.

Should I take Paper 5 or Paper 6? +

Your centre decides which practical paper it offers. Paper 5 is a hands-on practical test and Paper 6 is a written Alternative to Practical; both are worth 20% of the grade. Most of the skills overlap, so practise Paper 6 questions either way.

What is the difference between Core and Extended in 0610? +

Core candidates sit Papers 1, 3 and 5 or 6 and can achieve grades C to G. Extended candidates sit Papers 2, 4 and 5 or 6, study the Supplement content as well, and can achieve grades A* to G. Students aiming for A Level sciences or medicine should take Extended.

Why does the 0610 multiple-choice paper come last in 2027? +

Cambridge's June 2027 timetable puts the theory papers first, on 26 April, and the multiple-choice papers last, on 8 June. That means your heaviest written paper comes first, so finish your content review and timed theory practice by mid-April.

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