If your child attends a British-curriculum international school, there’s a very good chance they sit exams from Cambridge International (CIE/CAIE). But for many parents, especially those outside the UK, the exam board’s website can feel overwhelming full of technical documents, long menus, and unfamiliar terminology.

This guide gives you a simple, parent-friendly route to the exact resources you need:

• the syllabus (what your child has to study)
• the past papers (actual exam questions)
• the mark schemes (how answers are graded)
• the learner guides (student-friendly summaries)

Once you know where these are, supporting your child becomes far easier and far less stressful.

Step 1: Go to the Cambridge International Homepage

Open your browser and go to: 👉 https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/

You’ll see a menu with several options across the top.

Step 2: Click “Programmes & Qualifications”

This is the simplest, most reliable way to find what you need.

When you click Programmes & Qualifications, you’ll see all Cambridge education stages:

• Cambridge Primary
• Cambridge Lower Secondary
• Cambridge Upper Secondary (IGCSE)
• Cambridge Advanced (AS & A Levels) ← Most common for Years 12–13

Choose the correct level based on your child’s year group.

Step 3: Select “Cambridge Advanced” for A-Levels, or “Upper Secondary” for IGCSE

Once you click the level, you’ll land on an overview page.

Look for Subjects. (This option appears in multiple places top of the page, mid-page, or side menu.)

Click Subjects. This opens the full subject directory.

Step 4: Choose the Subject (e.g., A-Level Biology)

Let’s use A-Level Biology as the example.

Once you click Biology, you land on the main subject page one of the clearest and most organised parts of the entire Cambridge website.

Here you’ll see:

• Syllabus
• Learner Guides
• Specimen Papers
• Past Papers
• Example Candidate Responses
• Teacher Resources (you can ignore these unless curious)

Everything you need is in one place.

Step 5: Download the Syllabus (Specification)

This is the single most important document for parents.

Click Syllabus and download the PDF.

Inside you’ll find:

• exactly which topics your child will cover
• how the exam papers are structured
• how marks are awarded (AOs Assessment Objectives)
• practical requirements (for sciences)
• formula sheets, case studies, or reading lists (where relevant)

Tip for parents:
If the syllabus feels complicated, copy a section into a tool like ChatGPT and ask:

“Explain this in simple terms.”
or
“What does this topic mean for an A-Level student?”

It makes dense documents far easier to digest.

Step 6: Access Past Papers & Mark Schemes

Scroll back to the top of the subject page and click Past papers.

This section contains:

• Question Papers the actual exam questions
• Mark Schemes how marks are awarded
• Insert/Source Booklet (for subjects like English or Geography)

The layout is extremely parent-friendly because:

👉 The correct mark scheme is always placed directly underneath its matching question paper. You don’t have to search the pairing is automatic.

This makes it easy to:

• print a question paper
• download the matching mark scheme
• practise with your child
• compare answers to examiner expectations

It’s one of the most valuable learning resources Cambridge provides

Step 7: Use Learner Guides (Parents’ Favourite Hidden Resource)

Learner Guides are short, student-friendly booklets that explain:

• what students will learn
• how exams are structured
• how to revise effectively
• common mistakes
• tips from examiners
  
  

They’re much easier to read than the syllabus and perfect for parents who want to understand the subject without “feeling like a teacher.”

How InstantTutor Complements Cambridge Resources

Once you have the official syllabus and past papers, pairing them with InstantTutor makes learning far more strategic:

• When your child asks questions in the app, you can see which syllabus topic they struggle with.
• InstantTutor identifies patterns (e.g., repeatedly stuck on “Genetic Inheritance”), which you can cross-check with the syllabus.
• You can then select past-paper questions from that topic for practice.
• The app’s step-by-step help ensures your child learns how to answer, not just the final answer.

It’s the combination of official exam board structure + real-time learning insights that boosts progress.

Step 8: Avoid Common Parent Mistakes

Here are common pitfalls and how to avoid them:

❌ Mistake: Downloading the wrong syllabus year
✔ Fix: Check the “For examination 20XX–20XX” label on the cover page.

❌ Mistake: Only using the syllabus and ignoring past papers
✔ Fix: Cambridge exams reward technique, not just knowledge.

❌ Mistake: Using past papers without looking at the mark scheme
✔ Fix: The mark scheme is the key to understanding how to answer.

❌ Mistake: Waiting until late in the year to practise
✔ Fix: One past-paper question a week builds confidence early.

Final Thought: Once You’ve Navigated One Subject, You Can Navigate Them All

The Cambridge website looks complex at first, but it’s extremely consistent.

Once you find:

• Programmes & Qualifications → Cambridge Advanced → Subjects → Your Subject → Syllabus + Past Papers,
  you can repeat the process for any subject in minutes.

It gives parents clarity, structure, and confidence — and empowers your child to revise with far greater purpose.