Many employers and universities now require evidence of your English level. Cambridge Assessment English exams offer an important qualification for life; perfect for developing your confidence and enhancing your CV.

Cambridge Assessment English exam courses include a place on the next available exam, guidance on exam skills and strategies, essential language development, individual feedback, weekly individual coaching sessions and timed exam practice.

At Basil Paterson you can prepare for B2:First (FCE), C1:Advanced (CAE), and C2:Proficiency (CPE).

Cambridge Preparation course dates 2026

At Basil Paterson, there are two modes of study available for Cambridge exam preparation. We will ask you to complete a pre-course assessment to determine which programme is best suited to your needs. Students with approximately the correct level of English for the exam they would like to take can join our four-week intensive full-time Cambridge Preparation programme. If your overall level of English needs to be increased alongside your exam skills and strategies, then we will recommend following our Impact English programme, and choosing Cambridge preparation as an Individual Tuition elective.  Depending on your needs and assessment, a combination of these two approaches might be suitable, and we will work closely with you to determine the best path to success in your chosen Cambridge examination.

As an examination centre, you can study and take your final exam in the same building. As a student of Basil Paterson, we can guide you through the exam booking process and explain exactly what’s involved on exam day.

We understand the challenges examinations in English can bring.  Our examination courses help you prepare for your exam, with development of your language skills and improvement of your exam technique.

Impact English programme with Cambridge Exam Preparation elective Individual Tuition
The Impact English programme is an intensive course of study in small groups of no more than five learners. These classes take place in the morning with 15 hours per week from 0900-1230 Monday to Friday. These small group classes will help you improve your overall language level, as learning is tailored to the needs of the group.

Morning lessons are devoted to developing the skills and linguistic abilities that are required to not only achieve success in the Cambridge examinations, but that will also enable the student to operate in English with ease across cultural and linguistic borders. These lessons and workshops allow students to develop linguistic flair, as well as key 21st century skills such as critical thinking, creativity, resilience, and leadership.

Individual Tuition electives take place in the afternoon, and the number of hours is flexible according to your needs. You can choose between one and ten hours of Individual Tuition per week, and we will guide you on the number of hours you may require, based on your pre-course assessment and discussions with the Academic Team.

Individual Tuition for Cambridge Exam Preparation allows you to create a truly bespoke learning experience, with learning tailored specifically to your needs, and direct and close feedback from your tutor, leading to swift improvement in your exam performance. For Cambridge Preparation we recommend a minimum 2 weeks of study. This is to allow time to improve your level and cover all the components of the exam.

Intensive Cambridge Examination Preparation programme
Our intensive full-time Cambridge Preparation programme is a four-week intensive course combining the examination skills and techniques you will need to excel in your chosen Cambridge exam with language enrichment. Classes of no more than five students mean that learning can be highly tailored to the needs of the individual learner.

In the afternoons, learners undertake directed self-study and exam practice.

Course overview

Students train to gain experience and acquire the skills necessary to achieve a passing grade in their Cambridge Exam at B2 First, C1 Advanced, or C2 Proficiency level. 

Teachers coach students to achieve to the maximum of their potential, and set milestones and goals for each student, with constant evaluation. This sets the pace for each learner to surpass their academic expectations and achieve more than they thought possible. 

Students sit mock tests tests under exam conditions. These are repeated as required to build confidence and familiarity with the exam. 

Small class sizes with a maximum of five students also allow for a large amount of individual coaching, which provides students with the security of the knowledge that they are as prepared as possible for their exam, and with confidence and familiarity in the exam format. 

All students who successfully complete this course are eligible for a Course Certificate.  

Homework tasks are set daily to allow learners to reflect on and consolidate what they have learned in the day, as well as prepare for the next day. 

Learners are coached in the content of the exam, and strategies for understanding and navigating the test questions are explored and practised. 

Tutors set assignments for homework, and mock tests, taken under exam conditions, allow both tutor and student to monitor progress, as well as highlighting areas and tasks which may require a highly targeted focus or more intensive work. 

Course Content

Flexibility for Use of English

Students develop flexibility in their use of the English language by building their lexical and grammatical range. There is a strong focus on accuracy. The skills that are honed in this module are the foundation stones for the modules which follow it, as they equip the student with the language needed to express themselves clearly, accurately, eloquently, and with linguistic flair.

Confidence for the spoken paper

Students build the skills required for face-to-face interactions, with a focus on successful communication and articulation of concepts, effective discourse management, clear and effective pronunciation, and flexible and accurate use of structures and vocabulary. Developing the use of compensation strategies also allows students to maintain their confidence and communicative competence when faced with linguistic obstacles.

Strategies for effective reading

In this module, students are exposed to, and familiarised with, a variety of text types. Skills developed include: speed reading, understanding text structure, critical analysis, and determining an author’s position. The range of texts used includes newspaper articles, fiction, magazine articles, and non-fiction prose.

Listening skills

Preparation for the listening paper helps students build the skills to be able to follow and understand a range of spoken materials. These include radio broadcasts, interviews, presentations and talks, as well as everyday interactions. Materials such as TED talks and BBC broadcasts are used to develop the required skills, including: working out the meaning of unknown words, following the structure of speech, and summarising a talk.

Written eloquence

Students practise writing different text types, including essays, reports, articles and letters. They are trained to understand the differences between these types of writing, and to use their linguistic skills to reach their communicative objective in any style. There is a focus on how to structure a text clearly and logically, as well as planning, time-management, precision and clarity.

Timetable