Venue Inspection

Wednesday was day two of three, where we were running Cambridge Exams in Tokyo. The Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) is at C1 level of the Common European Framework. What that means is that candidates at this level can use language with ease & fluency. CAE may be used as proof of the langauge level necessary to work at managerial or professional level, or follow a course of academic study at unversity level.

So a very important test, and one which students have study long & hard for. It is very important in running the exams that candidates understand that we take their commitment seriously; we have been preparing for this for months as well. Candidates were impressed when I explained what the inspectors were doing - making sure that we were doing things properly. They found that rather reassuring to know that every venue running the exams has to perform to the same standard worldwide. Our venue was also surprised about this, but relieved to know that our preparations were in order & that by the end of the day we passed with flying colours.

Of course I also hope our 14 candidates passed too, but I can't make any comment on that because we send all materials to UK same day, sealing them immediately after the papers finish.
I really hope some of our students step up to this mark next year. It's so important to set goals, and just as important to measure your achievement against a meaningful barometer - in this case English learners all over the world.