Questions about a result, or about a review of marking, are handled by your exam centre together with Cambridge. A tuition team is not part of that route, so the first step is always a conversation with the centre that entered you.
This page explains who does what, what to prepare before you ask and how to use the private-candidate readiness checklist if you are entering independently. It belongs with the exam guidance section.
Who is responsible for what?
Cambridge marks the papers, sets grade thresholds and publishes the rules for result enquiries. Your exam centre, usually your school, is your point of contact. It enters you, receives your results and submits enquiries for you where the rules allow.
A private candidate deals with the independent centre they registered with. We are a tuition team.
That division is not an obstacle. It means one clear route: you, your centre, then Cambridge.
What should you do first?
- Wait until you have your official result from your exam centre. Do not judge from a friend’s result or a rumour about thresholds. The grading guide explains why.
- Read your result slip or statement carefully. Check the subject, the code, the route and the exam series against your statement of entry.
- Ask your exam centre how result queries work. Find out who handles them, what they need from you and how you will be told the outcome.
- Read the Cambridge guidance for your series. Start from the Cambridge IGCSE subject catalogue and follow the links for your subject, then confirm the current details with your centre.
- Write down your questions before you call or visit.
What should you ask your exam centre?
- Who at the centre can raise a query for me?
- What services or options does Cambridge offer for my subject and series?
- What are the current deadlines and any fees? (Ask for these in writing.)
- What will you need from me, and by when?
- How will the outcome reach me?
Cambridge and your centre set deadlines and fees, and they can change.
A worked example of preparing
A student opens a result and sees a mark in one subject that feels low. Before contacting anyone, the student writes down three things.
- What is certain: the subject, code and series on the result.
- What is a feeling: “I expected higher, because the paper seemed fine.”
- What is unknown: how the centre handles queries, and what Cambridge offers for this subject.
The student then asks the centre only about the unknowns. This keeps the conversation factual and saves time for the person helping.
A common mistake
Some students ask a tutor or a friend to contact Cambridge directly. Cambridge deals with registered exam centres for entries and result matters, so a message from a third party may not get a useful answer.
Go through the centre. If you are a private candidate, go through your independent centre.
How can a teacher help around results?
A result is one piece of information. A teacher can look at your practice work, your topic notes and, where you choose to share them, any returned materials, then explain which skills to strengthen. That teaching work is separate from the review process.
If you would like this kind of review, read how our tuition works and the paid trial. The subject tuition pages show what we can address in each subject.
You may also find these guides useful: IGCSE exam series and results timing.