The International Education group of Cambridge University Press & Assessment (Cambridge) has announced the introduction of digital examinations starting in June 2026. Students in schools across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the United States will be able to take the Cambridge International AS English General Paper, as well as multiple-choice exams for Cambridge IGCSE subjects including Accounting, Economics, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, using laptops. These digital exams will uphold the same validity, reliability, and comparability standards as Cambridge’s traditional paper-based assessments, marking the beginning of a global rollout of digital exams for the entire Cambridge IGCSE, AS, and A Level curricula.
Schools in select regions are currently invited to enroll in this initial phase of the digital rollout, which includes participation in an Early Adopter Programme. This programme will provide exclusive access to Cambridge’s innovative digital examination platform. Schools and students will engage in digital mock tests, familiarization sessions, and testing of new platform functionalities and support materials, enhancing the overall user experience. Cambridge will collect feedback from these participating schools to further refine and improve the digital platform.
A New Era of Digital Examinations
Cambridge’s digital approach is centered on education, aiming to enhance learning through assessment. The transition to digital exams will occur in two distinct ways:
- Migratory: The digital exams launching in June 2026 will convert existing paper-based assessments into digital formats with minimal changes to the curriculum, assessment types, or teaching methods.
- Transformational: Cambridge is also developing new curricula and assessment formats designed to enable evaluations that are not feasible with paper. These assessments will align with teaching and learning objectives geared toward higher education and workplace skills, emphasizing competencies like collaboration, online research, data interpretation, and communication.
The development process will incorporate feedback from the school community, along with research and examination expertise, to determine the most suitable approach for each qualification. By 2033, 85% of Cambridge’s high-stakes qualifications are expected to offer a digital option.
Rod Smith, Group Managing Director for International Education at Cambridge, stated, “As our world becomes increasingly digitized, education must follow suit. Cambridge International Education provides qualifications to nearly one million students globally each year. Drawing on insights from this community, we are well-positioned to deliver an optimal digital exam experience that supports and evaluates learning.”
Digital Mocks Service
In addition to the Early Adopter Programme, Cambridge schools can also express interest in the Digital Mocks Service, which is open from January to March 2025. This service prepares schools for future digital examinations and provides mock exam results that are both auto-marked and assessed by Cambridge examiners. This ensures that teachers and learners receive detailed results that highlight individual student performance and areas for focused revision. Since its launch in 2023, the Digital Mocks Service has enabled students in 31 countries to participate in digital mock exams across 16 subjects within the Cambridge IGCSE and AS & A Level curricula.
