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Practice

Exam resources for Cambridge students

As you get closer to taking your end-of-course Cambridge exams, it’s time to review your texts and class notes, and practice with course and exam materials from your teacher and on our website. We provide syllabuses, past papers (or exams), specimen papers (or example exams), and mark schemes (or rubrics) for all subjects in Cambridge Pre-Advanced (IGCSE) and Advanced (International AS & A Level) courses and exams.

Guide to course and exam practice documents

Here we explain what each type of document contains and how you may use them to prepare for your exam series.

  1. Syllabus

    What is it: The syllabus explains what students need to learn, what they should be able to do, and how they’ll be assessed at the end of the course. It is primarily written for teachers but can be helpful to students.

    How to use it: Review the syllabus at the start of the course. When preparing for final exams, revisit the learning objectives and skills to help you focus your study plans.

  2. Past paper (exam)

    What is it: Past papers are actual exams that students have taken in a prior exam series.

    How to use it: Take past papers and try to simulate exam day conditions as preparation. Use the mark scheme to assess your performance.

  3. Specimen paper (example exam)

    What is it: Specimen papers are examples of the types of test sections and questions you will encounter in your final exam. The questions have not been used in a past exam series.

    How to use it: Take specimen papers as practice for your final exam. Use the mark scheme to assess your performance.

  4. Mark scheme

    What is it: Mark schemes for past or specimen papers tell you what an examiner expects from an answer in order to award marks toward your grade.

    How to use it: Consult the mark scheme to assess your performance on a past or specimen paper. Focus your review on areas of weakness.

  1. Cambridge Advanced

    Cambridge International AS & A Level offers college-level courses and exams for high school students. If you’re interested in one of these subjects and your school doesn’t offer it, ask your counselor about your options.

    Visit the subject page to download the syllabus, past papers, specimen papers, and mark schemes.  

    Cambridge International AS & A Level subjects

  2. Cambridge Pre-Advanced

    Typically offered in early high school, Cambridge IGCSE prepares students for college-level courses and exams. Pre-Advanced courses are generally given honors credit. Consult with your school for information.

    Visit the subject page to download the syllabus, past papers, specimen papers, and mark schemes.

    Cambridge IGCSE subjects

  1. Young people sitting an exam

    Exam day

    Understand what will happen on exam day to help you perform as well as you possibly can. 

    What to expect on exam day

  2. Young people sitting an exam

    Diploma tracker

    Track progress toward the Cambridge AICE Diploma with these sample templates. Note: These are not official documents.

    Cambridge AICE Diploma tracker
    Cambridge AICE Diploma tracker

  3. Students celebrate receiving results

    Send exam grades

    Send Cambridge Advanced (International AS & A Level) results transcripts and Cambridge AICE Diploma status to US colleges and universities.

    Send grades

  4. Imaginery keyboard with a translation key

    UK to US translation

    Get an A-Z of useful terms to orient staff and students at Cambridge schools.

    UK to US: Terms A-Z

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