Your exam session and entry deadline are decided by Cambridge and your exam centre. They are not set by tuition, and we do not state them here, because a date repeated from a website goes out of date and could lead you to miss a step.
This page tells you who to ask, what to ask and how to record the answer. It belongs with the other pages in our exam guidance section.
Who is responsible for what?
- Cambridge runs the examination series and publishes official information about them.
- Your exam centre or school decides which sessions and subjects it offers, sets its own closing date for entries and fees, and submits your entry.
- You and your family ask early, confirm in writing and act before the centre’s date.
We are a tuition team. Your centre handles entry, dates and deadlines, so confirm them with your centre.
Why is the centre’s date the one that matters?
The centre has to collect your details, your subject choices and its fee, then submit everything to Cambridge. To do that, it needs your information by its own date. That date is set by the centre, so two centres can have different closing dates for the same session.
This is why a date that worked for a friend at another centre may not work for you. The only date that applies is the one your own centre gives you.
What should you ask, and when?
Start as early as you can. A good first message to your school office or centre covers these questions.
- Which exam session will I be entered for, and in which year?
- Is each of my subjects, by code, offered in that session at your centre?
- What is your closing date for entries, and what is needed by then?
- What is the fee, and by when must it be paid?
- What happens if I need to change a subject or withdraw?
- How will you confirm my entry to me, and when?
Write the date beside each answer. See questions to ask an independent exam centre if you are entering as a private candidate.
How do you check against official sources?
- Find your subject code using finding the correct syllabus.
- Open the Cambridge subject page for that code and read any notices about your exam year.
- For private entries, read Cambridge’s private candidate responsibilities page in full.
- Compare what your centre tells you with what Cambridge publishes. If they do not seem to match, ask your centre to explain in writing.
The private-candidate readiness checklist gives you a list to tick as you confirm each point. It does not store or send anything.
A short worked example
A student hears from a classmate that “entries close soon”. She does not know which session she is planning for.
She emails her school’s exam officer with the six questions above. The reply names her session and the school’s own closing date for entries, and confirms that her three subject codes are offered. She adds both dates to a note, with the date of the reply and the officer’s name.
She also opens the Cambridge page for one subject and checks that her exam year sits inside the syllabus years. Only then does she tell her teacher which session she is preparing for.
What goes wrong most often?
Relying on hearsay. A date from a friend, group chat or old notice may belong to another centre or another year.
Waiting to be told. Some centres expect you to ask. A gap can open between a centre’s closing date and the moment a student first enquires.
Mixing up the school calendar and the exam timetable. They are separate; see official timetable versus school calendar.
Assuming every subject is offered every session. Ask about each code.
How does tuition fit in?
When your session is confirmed by your centre, we can work backwards from it. A teacher can help you decide what to cover first, and the realistic revision planner helps you lay it out. Read how our one-to-one tuition works and how the paid trial runs, and see tuition and examination registration for the full split of roles.
You may also find these guides useful: IGCSE exam series and results timing.