CAMBRIDGE EXAM CENTER

The Cambridge ESOL tests consist of General English Exams known as the ‘Main Suite’, Exams for Schools, Professional English exams and Teaching Awards. It is the main suite exams which are the main internationally required certificates of English.

Results for all Cambridge courses are available online at the Cambridge Results website.

Certificates are usually posted to successful applicants within 6-8 weeks of sitting the exam.

To find out more information, visit the Cambridge Recognition website.

The Cambridge University ESOL examinations have always been widely recognised by governments, official bodies and major corporations around the world, and this is increasingly so in the twenty-first century. There are in excess of 10,000 companies and governments which currently recognise the Cambridge ESOL exams and use them in their human resource programmes. The list of companies recognising Cambridge exams, as run at SCEC, is a who’s who of the business world with such global leaders as UBS Bank, Coca-Cola, BMW, Unilever, Microsoft, Siemens, Volvo, etc. To find out more information, visit the Cambridge Recognition website.

These exams (Preliminary, First, Advanced, Proficiency & Business) are used by governments for a range of purposes, such as: immigration mechanisms, the recruitment and training of public servants, and the training of staff at many tiers of government. They are also used by tertiary education to assess students’ English level and suitability for further study. This recognition is built both on a history of solid research and development of language assessment over decades and the fact that the Cambridge exams dovetail with the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR), the cornerstone of global language teaching. For more information and a comparison for ALTE & CEFR please visit the Cambridge CEFR website.

Shafston Cambridge Exam Centre (SCEC) offers candidates the opportunity to sit for these globally recognised exams.

Computer-based testing is flexible and so is SCEC. Register to sit the exam as little as two weeks prior to taking it.

Candidates are asked to be aware that due to the short timeframes with computer-based examinations, there is the possibility that an advertised CB exam may not run if there are insufficient candidates. This information can only be communicated to candidates in the week preceding an exam, as registration numbers are not confirmed until shortly prior to an examination.

Applications to register to sit a Cambridge Exam should be sent to:

Director of Studies
SHAFSTON CAMBRIDGE EXAM CENTRE
46 THORN STREET, KANGAROO POINT
BRISBANE QLD 4169 AUSTRALIA
Tel: +61 7 3249 4111
Fax: +61 7 3391 0943
E-mail: info@shafston.edu
Website: http://www.shafston.edu

I took the PET exam in the middle of July. I think this computer system is quite nice. However, when I joined the course to prepare for PET exam, I couldn’t use the computer very well, but I am used to it now, because I had experience using a computer during the course. I think it would be difficult to use a computer without practice for the reading. In addition, we need more time to write our answers when doing the listening exam to check our answers. I enjoyed writing on the computer, it’s easier than paper.

Aki Nishi (PET)

Hello, my name is Cassio Fleury. I’m 20 years old, from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Recently I came to the Gold Coast, to study business at Shafston College. A few months ago, a very funny bloke told us in class that we could do, if we wanted to, a test to measure our business English skills, and I asked myself, why not? =D

The exam is the Business English Certificate (BEC) Vantage, by the Cambridge Exam Centre. We didn’t even have to go to Brisbane to take the test, everything was done here at the Gold Coast

Well, I wasn’t really nervous about the test, but anyway, Alex (the funny bloke from before) did everything he could to make us comfortable with it, like arranging some coffee for us in the first break, and let us decide how long we wanted every break to last.

There were four evaluation criteria: speaking, listening, writing and reading. That’s right, no grammar kids. The test focused itself (for obvious reasons) in the corporate matters, so all the content wasn’t really new for me as I studied marketing back in Brazil, but anyway, I guess the information was very clear and comprehensible, apart for some more complex terms.

I guess I did okay, I passed with a grade B (77/100).

Cassio Fleury (BEC Vantage)

Doing the computer-based BEC Vantage test was a very good experience. I am a person who has used a computer far more than paper based activities, so it was very natural and stimulating to do the exam in such a fashion. I have done a paper based Cambridge test before and I think they will soon became obsolete. The computer based Cambridge tests are the future and I am looking forward to doing the BEC Higher computer version of the test.

Francisco Azevedo (BEC Vantage)

I was in a first group of students who did the computer based exam, which is more up-to-date and also a convenient way of testing. The actual exam takes place in a computer lab where each student sits at his/her own computer.

The significant value of this modern examination method is especially the listening part. Using your own headset that enables you to adjust your volume and keeps you away of the noise in the classroom, it’s just great!

Using computers for testing is very comfortable, especially for young people who are more familiar with computers than with paper and pen.

Sandra Gosmanová (CAE)