Cambridge International A Level Exam Timetable: Dates and Planning Guide

A good revision plan starts with a date. Until you know when each paper actually takes place, "revise everything" is the only plan you can make, and that is a poor one. Once you have your real timetable, you can count backwards, space your papers sensibly and see exactly how many weeks you have for each subject.

This guide explains where the official Cambridge International exam timetables are published, how exam series and administrative zones work, how to read a timetable line by line and how to turn confirmed dates into a plan. It does not try to replace the official documents. Dates are set and revised by the exam board, they differ between series and zones, and the only dates you should plan around are the ones in the timetable for your own series and zone.

Where this guide shows real dates, it labels the series and says when they were checked. Everything else is advice that stays true from year to year. To see which papers your subject has, start with the current syllabus, and you can browse real papers on our A Level past papers pages. If you are thinking about taking the exams again, see our guide to Cambridge A Level retakes, and for planning a resit, see how to prepare for A Level resits.

Where the Official Timetables Are Published

Cambridge publishes its final exam timetables on the exam timetables page of its exams officers' guide, as PDF downloads. The page is written mainly for exams officers and centres, and it says centres are responsible for making sure they use the correct version of the timetable. For students, that has a practical meaning: your school is your first source for the exact dates and times of your own papers.

• The timetables page lists the final timetable for each exam series.
• Key dates pages and calendars give an overview of important dates for each series, such as entry periods and results release.
• Key Times explain the morning and afternoon session rules that apply on exam days.
• Your school's exams officer can download a timetable containing only the exams you have been entered for.

Cambridge's key dates and activities page links to key-date documents and monthly calendars for each series. If you are a student, treat these as background and rely on your school for the dates that apply to you.

Exam Series: June and November

Cambridge examinations are organised into series, named by month and year, such as June 2026 or November 2026. Each series has its own timetable and its own key dates, and, after the exams, its own results release and grade thresholds. For AS & A Level, the series listed on Cambridge's timetables page when it was checked on 26 October 2026 were June 2026 and November 2026.

Results follow a regular pattern: Cambridge releases results in January for the November series and in August for the June series. So the series you sit tells you not only when the papers are, but also roughly when you will find out how you did. Which series you can enter depends on your school or centre, so ask your exams officer rather than assuming.

Administrative Zones: Why There Is More Than One Timetable

On its timetables page, Cambridge states that all its centres are allocated to one of six administrative zones, and that each zone has its own timetable. For the June 2026 and November 2026 series, the page offered a separate timetable for each of the six zones, and an additional timetable for the UK. It stresses that it is essential to use the correct version of the timetable for your zone.

The page does not spell out here which countries fall in which zone, so don't guess. Your school knows its zone, and the dates in a zone's timetable are the ones that count for candidates at its centres. A friend at a school in a different zone may have a different date for the same paper.

How to Read a Cambridge Timetable

A timetable can look like a wall of codes, but each line follows the same pattern. Cambridge's final timetable documents offer a weekly view and a syllabus view organised alphabetically, and each entry shows the syllabus or component, a code, a duration, a date and a session. Here are real entries from the final timetable for the November 2026 series, Zone 1, as checked on 26 October 2026.

• The code. The first four digits are the syllabus (9709 is Mathematics) and the digits after the slash are the component, or paper, within it.
• The duration. Cambridge notes that time for reading through question papers is already included in the total time shown, so you must not expect additional time.
• The date and session. Papers sit in a morning (AM) or afternoon (PM) session, and each session has a Key Time, which centres must follow.
• The qualification. Check whether a paper is listed under AS Level or A Level, since the same syllabus code can appear in both.

This is only an illustration of how to read the document, and these dates apply to that series and zone. Always use the timetable for your own series and zone. You can see the example document itself in Cambridge's November 2026 Zone 1 timetable.

Test Date Windows for Practical and Speaking Components

Not every component sits on a single timetabled date. Some practical and speaking components have a test date window, a range within which a centre must hold the test. The same November 2026 timetable lists such windows for several subjects. For example, it shows Computer Science (Practical), component 9618/43, with a test date window of 29 October 2026 (a single day), under the A Level section.

If you have a practical or speaking component, ask your school for the exact date it has fixed within the window, since it may not match a friend's at another school.

Timetables Can Change: Provisional, Final and Revisions

Cambridge publishes timetables in stages. The November 2026 document describes itself as the final version of the timetable, and notes that there may be some changes from the provisional timetable. Cambridge also says it sometimes needs to revise a final timetable after publication, and advises checking the version number at the bottom of the document. Updates are published on its timetables page and shared with exams officers in a monthly newsletter.

• 1

  Check you have the final version. Don't rely on an old provisional copy.

• 2

  Note the version number. It's printed at the bottom of the document.

• 3

  Ask your school about updates. Centres are responsible for telling candidates about any changes.

• 4

  Re-check before the exams. Look again a few weeks before your first paper.

A Checklist to Confirm Your Own Dates

Cambridge says that exams officers can download a timetable containing only the exams a candidate has been entered for, and the dates in .csv format. If your school can give you that, it is the cleanest version to plan from.

Turning Confirmed Dates Into a Preparation Plan

• 1

  List every paper in date order. Include the code, subject, date, session and duration.

• 2

  Mark the first and last paper. These set the start and end of your plan.

• 3

  Count the weeks backwards. Work out how many full weeks you have before each paper.

• 4

  Look at the gaps. Note back-to-back days and long gaps, and plan around them.

• 5

  Allocate time by subject and weakness. Give more of the early weeks to your weakest subjects, with something for every subject.

• 6

  Fix the practice papers. Pencil in timed past-paper sessions, and match the session time (AM or PM) where you can.

These are guides, not rules. The point of having the real dates is to make your plan specific: if two of your papers fall on consecutive mornings, you can practise that pattern in advance. For the practice itself, you can try questions on our A Level practice pages and use past papers to simulate the timing.

Clashes, Resits and Entering Through a Centre

• Timetable clashes. If two of your papers are scheduled at the same time, tell your exams officer straight away. Cambridge's timetable document includes a section on timetable clashes, and your exams officer can follow its guidance.
• Taking exams again. Ask your exams officer which series you can enter, the entry deadlines and the fees. Our guide to Cambridge A Level retakes explains the main considerations, and how to prepare for A Level resits shows how to plan the preparation.
• Not at a Cambridge school. Candidates who study independently generally enter through a registered Cambridge centre, so ask a centre about its entry arrangements early.

Common Timetable Mistakes

• Using the wrong zone's timetable. Dates can differ between zones.
• Relying on a provisional or old copy. Check for the final, latest version.
• Confusing the syllabus code with the component. The part after the slash identifies the paper.
• Forgetting the session. A morning and afternoon paper on one day need different preparation.
• Assuming extra reading time. The duration already includes reading time.
• Planning from a friend's dates. Your own timetable is the one that counts.

Final Thoughts

A timetable is the most practical document you will get all year, because it turns "some time in the exam season" into a list of real mornings and afternoons. Find the official version for your series and zone, confirm your own papers with your school, check for revisions and then plan backwards from the first paper.

Everything in this guide that depends on a particular year is labelled with its series and the date it was checked, and the official pages are always the final authority. Start by asking your exams officer for your personal timetable, then open the syllabus for each subject and build your plan.