Independent Teacher
The acronym STEP stands for Sixth Term Examination Paper. It is a test designed to evaluate students’ mathematical skills, and it is taken in the final year of school before university.
From 2024, the OCR Examination Board has taken over the administration of STEP instead of the group Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing (CAAT).
STEP is a mandatory part of the application process for students who choose courses like mathematics, computer science, and other related courses at top-notch universities in the UK, such as the University of Cambridge, the University of Warwick, and Imperial College London. Although the University of Oxford does not require STEP scores for maths and computer science courses, Oxford officially recommends that applicants take the STEP exams.
March 1st, 2024
Please note: OCR reserves the rights to make changes to these dates.
Special reminder: Please make proper arrangements in advance in case of possible conflicts with A-Level exams.
Students must enroll in an approved exam center to register for Cambridge STEP:
Candidates are required to submit the following information at the time of registration:
Candidate entry number:
Please ask the exams officer at your school/college/test centre to register you and give you your candidate entry number as proof that your registration is complete.
For more information on Cambridge STEP registration, access arrangements, and other details, please refer to our blog ‘How to Register for Cambridge STEP‘.
In 2024, the Cambridge STEP rules are the same as in 2023, which are:
Courses
UCAS Code
G100
All Cambridge colleges require at least grade 1 in one STEP paper (STEP 2 or 3). The minimum offer level is grade 1 in STEP 2 and 3, but some Colleges may make alternative offers to some candidates on a case-by-case basis.
Depending on individual circumstances, some Colleges may make an A level applicant an offer which will be met if they achieve either A*A*A with at least grade 1 in both of STEP papers 2 and 3 OR A*A*A* with at least grade 1 in either STEP paper 2 or 3 (both papers to be taken). The following Colleges are taking part in the flexible offer scheme for 2025 entry:
Courses
UCAS Code
G100
In addition, the University of Warwick has changed the admission test requirements for 2025 entry. MAT scores are no longer accepted, and students are required with TMUA scores. If there is no TMUA score, it can be replaced by a STEP grade 2 or above. Before 2024, the University of Warwick required a TMUA score of 6.5 or above, but the requirement for 2025 entry has yet to be released. For details, please visit the official website of the University of Warwick.
Since 2018, the following Warwick courses no longer require STEP:
For mathematics, computer science, and other related courses at Oxford University, candidates are required to take the MAT (Mathematics Admissions Test) exam. Although STEP scores are not one of the requirements for admission, Oxford also encourages candidates to take STEP exams and provide their scores to fully assess their academic abilities.
To apply to Oxford, Cambridge, and other universities, you must regularly check their official website and admission criteria.
For a detailed comparison between STEP and MAT, please refer to the blog:
[1]As STEP questions rarely require the simple recall of complex formulae, the use of formulae booklets was discontinued in 2019. Where a particular formula is needed, and it is not considered reasonable to expect you to recall or derive it, it will be included in the question.
The STEP 1 exam has been canceled in 2021, and only the STEP 2 and STEP 3 exams are offered.
The questions are all numeracy questions, and candidates only need to choose 6 out of 12 questions from the paper to answer.
Since the 2019 reforms, the number of questions in the STEP 2 and 3 papers has been reduced from 13 to 12, as shown in the table below:
Click below to browse the collection of past STEP 2 and STEP 3 exam papers.
You may download our collections of past papers via the test prep page as follows.
Candidates answer six questions, each with 20 marks, for a full paper of 120 marks.
There is no limit to the number of questions a candidate may answer, although only six questions are required. When a candidate answers more than six questions, marks will be awarded for each question, but only the six questions with the highest marks will be considered for the total marks.
The critical thing to know is that although maximum marks and grade levels are the same for STEP 2 and STEP 3, the score thresholds for each level are different for each exam each year.
The historical grade distribution and percentage of candidates can be checked by clicking on the image below.
In 2019, the STEP exam underwent profound changes to align with the updates to the A Level curriculum. Here are some changes:
The 2024 STEP exam will follow the 2023 STEP exam style. There will be a minor change in the mechanic section. All other sections will remain the same except for the use of bilingual dictionaries.
For information on preparing for the Cambridge STEP, please refer to:
