Full mock exams
Complete Cambridge-style mock tests — every part in one sitting, just like exam day.
The two exams are one CEFR level apart, and the gap is bigger than it looks on paper. B2 First asks you to handle everyday English confidently: hold an opinion, follow a conversation at natural speed, write a clear structured text. C1 Advanced asks you to handle English you were not expecting — unfamiliar registers, implied attitude, argument that turns halfway through a paragraph — and to write with precision rather than just accuracy.
The practical test is not how long you have studied but what happens under time pressure. If you can finish a B2 First reading paper with time left over and your writing loses marks for range rather than errors, C1 Advanced is the right target. If you are still spending the last five minutes guessing, sit B2 First first — a certificate at B2 is worth considerably more than a near miss at C1, and the two are graded on the same Cambridge English Scale, so the work is never wasted.
There are 80 full paper tests at B2 First and 80 at C1 Advanced, across all four papers at each level. If you are genuinely unsure which to sit, take a Reading & Use of English test at each level: the score gap between them tells you more in an afternoon than any self-assessment questionnaire.
One CEFR level, but the jump is steeper than between earlier levels. C1 Advanced has an extra Reading & Use of English part, longer writing tasks (220–260 words against 140–190), and texts that test inference and attitude rather than comprehension alone. Most candidates need a year or more of study between the two.
No. B2 First and C1 Advanced certificates do not have an expiry date. Individual institutions sometimes ask for a recent result — commonly within two years — but that is their policy, not Cambridge's, so check with whoever is asking for it.
Each level has one free full Reading & Use of English test you can sit without signing up, plus two free exercises in every part across the practice section. The rest of the mock tests are covered by a one-off timed access pass.
