Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE)
Welcome to the CPE Home page, where you can find all the information and help you need to start preparing for CPE.
ABOUT CPE
CPE is the highest-level Cambridge ESOL exam, at Level C2 of the Council of Europe's Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
What is Level C2?
If you are able to function effectively in almost any English-speaking context and are approaching a standard of English similar to that of an educated native speaker, then CPE is the exam for you.
What's in CPE?
The table below shows you the different parts of CPE. You can also view the CPE papers in more detail.
| Paper | Content | Time | Marks (% of total) |
|---|---|---|---|
 Reading |
4 parts/40 questions | 1 hour 30 minutes | 20% |
 Writing |
2 parts | 2 hours | 20% |
 Use of English |
5 parts/44 questions | 1 hour 30 minutes | 20% |
 Listening |
4 parts/28 questions | about 40 minutes | 20% |
 Speaking |
3 parts | 19 minutes per pair of candidates | 20% |
SUPPORT FOR CPE
To help you get started, Cambridge ESOL have some FREE material which you can download for CPE.
CPE Information for Candidates (English)
(2.3 Mb)
Understanding your Statement of Results (342 Kb)
Summary Regulations for Candidates (44 Kb)
Sample Papers
CPE Reading sample paper (3.2 Mb)
CPE Writing sample paper (764 Kb)
CPE Use of English sample paper (2.4 Mb)
CPE Listening sample paper (1.2 Mb)
CPE Listening mp3 files 
(22 Mb)
CPE Speaking sample test (1.3 Mb)
