New Cambridge English First (FCE) in 2015

From January 2015, there will be an update to the Cambridge English First (FCE) exam. The new exam will have 4 papers instead of 5 and it will be 30 minutes shorter.

The Reading and Use of English parts will be put together in a 1 hour 15 minute paper which will be worth 40% of total marks. The level of a Cambridge English First (FCE) pass (Grade C) will be the same as before: B2 or upper intermediate.

However, Cambridge are also introducing a new scale.

For FCE, the scale scores will be between 160 and 190. From the list below, you can see that FCE will have a range between CEFR B2 and C1. A grade A in FCE will indicate a C1 level of English.

Scores between 120 and 139 = CEFR A2
Scores between 140 and 159 = CEFR B1
Scores between 160 and 179 = CEFR B2
Scores between 180 and 199 = CEFR C1
Scores between 200 and 230 = CEFR C2

For more information go to www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams/first/exam-update-for-2015/