Cambridge Exams Explained

When I first started working in schools in Spain, people kept mentioning Starters, Movers, Flyers, PET, First and all sorts of Cambridge exam names.

I'll be honest, I had absolutely no idea what any of them meant.

Everyone seemed to be talking about them like it was common knowledge, while I was sat there wondering whether Movers was a level, a book, or some sort of exercise class.

If you're about to become a language assistant, don't worry. It all starts making sense pretty quickly.

Depending on your school, you may be involved in preparing students for Cambridge exams. Usually, as a language assistant, you'll spend a lot of time helping students with the speaking part of the exams, since that's where having a native speaker is especially useful. However, some schools may also ask you to help with reading, listening and writing activities too. Every school is slightly different.

The Cambridge exam system is basically designed to measure a student's English level as they progress through their learning journey.

The younger children usually start with what are called the Young Learners exams.

The first one is Starters (Pre-A1 level). These students are often around 6-8 years old and are just beginning to learn English. At this stage, you're usually focusing on basic vocabulary such as colours, animals, food, family members and simple classroom language.

After that comes Movers (A1 level). Students are normally a little older and can understand and produce simple sentences. You might practise things like describing pictures, answering basic questions about themselves, talking about hobbies and understanding short texts.

Then comes Flyers (A2 level). This is usually the highest of the Young Learners exams and students are becoming much more independent. They can have longer conversations, write short texts and understand more complex reading and listening activities.

After Flyers, students move into the main Cambridge exam pathway.

A2 Key (often called KET) is the first step. At this level, students can manage simple everyday situations and conversations.

Next is B1 Preliminary (PET). Students are becoming much more confident and can communicate independently in many situations. They'll start writing longer texts, understanding more detailed listening exercises and participating in longer speaking tasks.

After PET comes B2 First (FCE or simply "First"). This is a really important qualification and is often the level many schools work towards. Students at this stage can communicate confidently in English and discuss a wide range of topics.

Beyond that, there is C1 Advanced (CAE) and C2 Proficiency (CPE), although as a language assistant you're less likely to work extensively with these levels unless you're teaching older students or working in a specialised academy.

The good news is that you don't need to arrive already knowing how every Cambridge exam works.

Most schools will explain what they're preparing students for, and you'll quickly become familiar with the format once you start helping in classes.

One thing that helped me massively was using resources that already exist rather than trying to create everything from scratch.

Twinkl is probably one of my favourite websites for Cambridge preparation materials. If I'm looking for a particular activity, I'll often just type something like "Cambridge Movers speaking" or "Cambridge Flyers reading" into the search bar and loads of resources appear.

The official Cambridge website is also fantastic and has lots of free sample papers, activities and guidance for teachers and students.

Another website I use quite a lot is Test-English. It has loads of free exercises covering grammar, reading, listening and exam-style activities for different levels.

Looking back now, the Cambridge system feels much less complicated than it did at the beginning. Once you understand that it's simply a progression from beginner to advanced levels, everything starts to fall into place.

And trust me, after hearing people talk about Movers and Flyers for a few weeks, you'll soon be throwing those names around like you've known them your whole life.