STEP 2
- Duration
- 3 hours
- Format
- 12 questions; best 6 marked
Preparation Guide
Sixth Term Examination Paper Preparation Guide
Find which papers in the STEP your course requires, see the score distribution, and follow our 5-step preparation journey with question-bank support.
Replacement testThe STEP replaced MAT. If you are here looking for the legacy test, this is where it moved.
The STEP at a glance
0 hours per paper
Duration
STEP 2 + STEP 3
0
Papers
STEP 2 (required), STEP 3 (Cambridge)
Out of ~0
Best 6 scored
You attempt your best 6 from 12
1, 2, or S
Pass grade
S = outstanding
1, 1
Cambridge offer
STEP 2 + STEP 3
£0+ per paper
Cost
Universities that require the STEP
The universities that gate on the STEP — with the score band successful applicants actually hit.
Cambridge
Target 1, 1
Warwick
Target Grade 1 in STEP 2
Imperial
Key Dates & Deadlines
1 March 2026
Registration Opens
OCR entries open. You enter through your school / college exams officer, not directly.
4 May 2026
Entry Deadline
OCR standard entry deadline (also the access-arrangements request deadline). Your centre may set an earlier internal deadline — confirm with your exams officer.
4 June 2026
STEP 2
3-hour written paper.
10 June 2026
STEP 3
3-hour written paper.
13 August 2026
Results Released
Released with A-Level results. Grades S, 1, 2, 3, U.
1 March 2026
Registration Opens
OCR entries open. You enter through your school / college exams officer, not directly.
4 May 2026
Entry Deadline
OCR standard entry deadline (also the access-arrangements request deadline). Your centre may set an earlier internal deadline — confirm with your exams officer.
4 June 2026
STEP 2
3-hour written paper.
10 June 2026
STEP 3
3-hour written paper.
13 August 2026
Results Released
Released with A-Level results. Grades S, 1, 2, 3, U.
01Section 01
Overview — official link, courses, and the papers you sit
01
Section 01
Overview — official link, courses, and the papers you sit
STEP (Sixth Term Examination Paper) is normally a post-offer mathematics examination — Cambridge uses STEP grades as the maths-grade condition on offers for Mathematics and Mathematics with Physics. It is sat in June after offers are made, and is graded S, 1, 2, 3, or U.
STEP (Sixth Term Examination Paper) is normally a post-offer examination, not a pre-interview admissions test. Cambridge uses STEP as the maths-grade condition on offers for Mathematics and Mathematics with Physics; Warwick and Imperial accept STEP within some Mathematics offers.
STEP is fundamentally different from A-Level Mathematics. Questions are long, unstructured, and require you to construct proofs, develop arguments, and apply mathematical reasoning in unfamiliar contexts.
For 2027 entry, applicants typically sit STEP 2 and STEP 3 in June after their Cambridge offer is made — not as part of pre-interview shortlisting. Always check the specific conditions on your offer.
Official test site: www.ocr.org.uk/students/step-mathematics — registration, specimen papers, and the latest results report.
Oxbridge Mentors also produces an in-house STEP question bank focused on the hardest questions students get stuck on and the time-management drills that close the last 10–15% of the score. Contact us for access or 1-to-1 support.
Courses that require the STEP
Every course below sits the same STEP papers — there are no per-course module choices.
STEP for Cambridge
Cambridge courses requiring the STEP
- Course guide →
Mathematics
UCAS G100
- Course guide →
Mathematics With Physics
STEP for Warwick
Warwick courses requiring the STEP
- Course guide →
Mathematics
UCAS G100
02Section 02
Test format
02
Section 02
Test format
Each STEP paper is 3 hours long and contains 12 questions across Pure Mathematics, Mechanics, and Statistics / Probability. You choose which questions to attempt, and your best 6 answers are marked.
There is no multiple choice. Every question requires a full written solution with mathematical working and justification.
STEP 3 covers a wider syllabus including Further Mathematics content and is harder than STEP 2. Cambridge Mathematics offers typically require both papers.
STEP 3
- Duration
- 3 hours
- Format
- 12 questions; best 6 marked
Total duration: 3 hours per paper. Grades awarded: S, 1, 2, 3, U.
03Section 03
Scoring & score distribution
03
Section 03
Scoring & score distribution
Each question is marked out of 20. Your total score from your best 6 questions (out of 120) is converted to one of five official grades: S, 1, 2, 3, or U.
Cambridge typically requires a grade 1 in both STEP 2 and STEP 3 as a condition of offer, though some offers may specify an S grade. Always check the specific wording on your offer.
Year-to-year grade boundaries vary with cohort difficulty; a score that earns a grade 1 in one cycle may differ from another. Use the official grade descriptors rather than informal "pass / fail" language when discussing STEP outcomes.
Score distribution
STEP 2 (Mathematics II) — June 2024 cohort
All candidatesCambridge offer condition (Grade 1 / S)
What each band means
| Band | What it means |
|---|---|
| S (90+/120) | Outstanding~Top 5% |
| 1 (60+/120) | Cambridge std~Top 25% |
| 2 (40+/120) | Pass~Top 50% |
| 3 / U | Below standardBelow |
04Section 04
Your preparation journey
04
Section 04
Your preparation journey
Most STEP success follows the same arc: understand the specification, build fluency on old papers, sharpen on the hardest questions, simulate the latest exam, then sit it.
- 1
Master the specification
Read the official STEP specification end-to-end, then check it against what you've covered at school. Any topic that's listed but not yet covered is the first thing to learn — every question on the test sits inside this list.
- 2
Build fluency on old papers
Work through past papers from the oldest first and move forwards through the cycle. Keep the most recent 5 papers untouched for the final week before your exam — they're the closest match to the real difficulty.
- 3
Sharpen on the hardest questions
Most past papers contain 2–3 questions that consistently trip students up. Our STEP question bank is built around those — extra drills on the difficult question types plus the time-efficiency methods that turn a borderline score into a top one.
Access the question bank → - 4
Sit the specimen papers
Sit the latest specimen and most-recent real papers under exam conditions in the final week. These are the closest indicator of the real exam's difficulty — don't waste them early.
- 5
Sit the exam
Confirm logistics the day before — ID, allowed materials, travel — and sit the test. By this point the work is done; exam day is about delivery, not new learning.
- 1
Master the specification
Read the official STEP specification end-to-end, then check it against what you've covered at school. Any topic that's listed but not yet covered is the first thing to learn — every question on the test sits inside this list.
- 2
Build fluency on old papers
Work through past papers from the oldest first and move forwards through the cycle. Keep the most recent 5 papers untouched for the final week before your exam — they're the closest match to the real difficulty.
- 3
Sharpen on the hardest questions
Most past papers contain 2–3 questions that consistently trip students up. Our STEP question bank is built around those — extra drills on the difficult question types plus the time-efficiency methods that turn a borderline score into a top one.
Access the question bank → - 4
Sit the specimen papers
Sit the latest specimen and most-recent real papers under exam conditions in the final week. These are the closest indicator of the real exam's difficulty — don't waste them early.
- 5
Sit the exam
Confirm logistics the day before — ID, allowed materials, travel — and sit the test. By this point the work is done; exam day is about delivery, not new learning.
05Section 05
Common mistakes to avoid
05
Section 05
Common mistakes to avoid
- Starting timed practice too late. Most score plateaus aren't a knowledge problem — they're a pacing problem. Time yourself from week one, not just in the final month.
- Burning the most recent papers early. The newest specimen and live papers are the only honest indicator of the real exam's difficulty. Keep at least 5 untouched for the final week.
- Reviewing wrong answers passively. Skimming the mark scheme isn't a fix. For every error, write out (a) the exact wrong reasoning, (b) the correct method, and (c) the cue you missed.
- Spending too long on hard questions. Every minute on a stuck question is a minute not banked on three easier ones. Practise an explicit "skip and return" rule from your first timed paper.
- Question scatter. Best-6 scoring rewards depth not breadth. Scattering across 12 questions guarantees no question reaches the marks-rich part.
- Skipping the setup. STEP questions are constructed so that early parts unlock later parts. Skipping setup throws away 5–10 marks per question.
The biggest STEP mistakes are attempting too many questions superficially, weak proof structure, and not showing sufficient working.
A specialist tutor can identify gaps in your mathematical toolkit, teach efficient proof techniques, and help you develop the judgment to pick the right questions under exam pressure.
06Section 06
Practice resources
06
Section 06
Practice resources
Past STEP 2 and STEP 3 papers from 1990 onwards, along with mark schemes, are freely available on the OCR / Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing website.
The STEP Support Programme (STEP support modules at maths.org and Cambridge Faculty of Mathematics) is structured preparation aligned to the test specification.
Stephen Siklos's "Advanced Problems in Mathematics" is the canonical bridge text from A-Level to STEP-style problem-solving.
Oxbridge Mentors exclusive
Access our exclusive STEP question bank
Built by tutors who scored highly on the STEP — the hardest historic questions, focused drills, and time-efficiency methods for the trickiest question types.
Official past papers
Official past papers are published on the board's own site. Our own worked solutions are being added on a rolling basis.
07Section 07
Registration & logistics
07
Section 07
Registration & logistics
STEP registration is through your school exam centre, usually in the spring term. The exam is sat in June.
International candidates arrange a STEP test centre through their school or a registered exam centre.
STEP is graded by OCR; results are released in August alongside A-Level results.
Official registration page
Register and check the latest test windows directly with the test board — links change every cycle, so always confirm here.
08Section 08
International applicants
08
Section 08
International applicants
Chinese applicants
A highly competitive UK applicant pool — the test is a major shortlisting input
Chinese applicants compete in one of the most intensive UK applicant pools at Oxbridge and Imperial. None of the test providers publish a pass/fail score — scores are read alongside the rest of the application — so there is no specific cut-off we can guarantee. What we can say from observed cohorts: top Chinese applicants cluster in the upper percentiles, and the STEP is one of the most influential non-academic signals in shortlisting at oversubscribed courses. The realistic target is therefore not the published minimum but the upper-percentile band for your course.
All other international applicants
The bar remains high — aim for the top band
For applicants from outside China the effective bar at Oxbridge and Imperial is still well above the published minimums. At oversubscribed courses, top universities are choosing between strong files, and a competitive STEP score is one of the clearer differentiators. We do not publish a specific cut-off (the test providers do not publish one either) — but the realistic target for a serious application is the upper percentile band rather than the published minimum.
Logistics for international test-takers (centres, ID, deadlines)
International applicants arrange a STEP test centre through their school or a Cambridge-recognised exam centre. Confirm centre availability early in the spring term.
STEP is graded against UK standards regardless of where you sit it. There is no international discount on grade thresholds.
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What our students say
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