Limited places may exclude 11th-graders from Cambridge exam
Wednesday 11th November 2026 on 20:15 in
Estonia
Some Estonian schools are holding 11th-graders back from the Cambridge English exam because places in the final state-funded session may not be available to all applicants, ERR reports. The state is giving priority to 12th-graders.
The internationally recognised Cambridge C1 exam has become more popular among upper-secondary students, alongside Estonia’s state English exam at B2 level. The state has funded the Cambridge exam for seven years, but next spring will be the last time it is financed through ministry funds.
The total contract was worth about two million, spread across the seven years, said Marika Peekmann, an adviser on general and vocational education at the Ministry of Education. The ministry has slightly increased the funding for the final session so that as many students as possible can take the exam.
As a result, 3,100 12th-graders will be able to sit the exam next spring, 900 more than the contract originally provided for. Students in grade 12 can register first; younger students may take remaining places.
At Mustamäe State Upper Secondary School, nearly 90 percent of 12th-graders took the international exam in the most recent session. With places for younger students uncertain, the school decided not to send its 11th-graders this time.
“It is still very unclear how many 11th-graders could theoretically take the exam if 12th-graders have priority,” said the school’s English teacher, Martin Arro. He said the school wanted students to take the exam only after completing the relevant curriculum and feeling prepared.
An English teacher at Vinni-Pajusti Upper Secondary School said 19 students had taken a preliminary test in early September without being told they might not get to sit the exam. The school learned at an Harno information session on October 27 that 12th-graders would be given priority. The teacher called the situation disappointing.
The Education Ministry says students will still be able to take the Cambridge exam as a paid service costing several hundred euros, or sit the state exam.