STEP 2: Format, Marking, Grade Boundaries and Preparation

STEP, the Sixth Term Examination Paper, now consists of two papers: STEP 2 and STEP 3, administered by OCR, the exam board within the Cambridge family. STEP 1 has not been offered since the June 2021 sitting, so any three-paper system described on older forums is history, and STEP 1 papers from 2020 and earlier are warm-up material rather than a guide to current requirements.

The official basis of STEP 2 is stated precisely: it is based on A level Mathematics and AS level Further Mathematics. The AS is doing real work in that sentence. STEP 2 does not assume the full Further Mathematics A level; that is the foundation of STEP 3. In practice, STEP 2 expects complete command of single Mathematics plus the first half of the Further Maths course, and the sensible way to decide when you are ready to open a past paper is to check your position against that content line, not against a vague sense of being good at maths. For students whose curriculum does not map neatly onto the English system, whether that is AS-only Further Maths or an IB or AP background, drawing that line first is the single most useful piece of planning.

As for the character of the questions, the specification is explicit: they may test your ability to apply mathematical knowledge in novel and unfamiliar ways, often draw on several specification topics at once, and solutions frequently demand insight, ingenuity, persistence and the ability to work through substantial sequences of algebraic manipulation. That one sentence captures nearly everything that separates STEP from A level, and the rest of this guide unpacks it.

STEP 2 is a handwritten, pen-and-paper examination lasting three hours. The paper carries twelve questions in three sections:

Every question carries the same maximum of 20 marks; there are no premium questions. The rules place no restriction on how many questions you attempt from any section, so all six of your counting answers may come from Section A if pure mathematics is where you are strongest. For most candidates the eight pure questions are the main arena, with mechanics and statistics offering extra options to those who have studied the applied content thoroughly, rather than compulsory territory.

A few practical points that catch students used to computer-based admissions tests are worth stating plainly. STEP 2 is not sat on screen: everything is written by hand in the official answer booklet. In the 2026 series, STEP 2 was sat on 4 June, starting at 9am at UK centres, with international centres setting their own local start times. And the paper code is 9470, which is how OCR's annual grade boundary documents, the Explanation of Results, identify each paper.

The marking rule for STEP 2 is one of the most commonly misstated facts about the exam, and the wrong version leads to genuinely bad decisions in the hall. The correct rule: every question you attempt is marked, and your final score is the total of your six best answers, out of a maximum of 120 (six questions at 20 marks each). It is not a matter of choosing six questions at the start and being locked into them.

The distinction matters because it removes the sunk cost of switching. If a solution stalls halfway, you can put it down and open another question; the half-solution is still marked, and if the new attempt scores better it simply displaces the old one from your counting six. The mark scheme also rewards progress: credit is given for making genuine headway towards a complete solution even when the final answer is wrong, and a correct answer earns full marks whatever method you used. There are no bonus marks for finishing a question completely; each is marked strictly out of 20.

OCR adds a caution worth taking seriously: attempting more than six questions is not advisable, and candidates who spread themselves thinly rarely score as well as those who concentrate on six. The sensible exam plan follows directly. Spend the opening minutes reading all twelve questions, start from the ones you are most confident about, and aim for depth on six rather than fragments across nine. When a question stops moving, switch without ceremony; the marks you have already earned on it are banked either way.

STEP publishes its grade boundaries and score distribution on results day itself (by 08:00 UK time), which means preparation targets can be quantified. The grades run S (Outstanding), 1 (Very Good), 2 (Good), 3 (Satisfactory), U (Unclassified). For the 2026 series, STEP 2 (out of 120) came out as follows:

Three readings are worth chewing over. First, a grade 1 at 62 marks is roughly three questions done well plus substantial progress on a fourth. That is a far more realistic picture than "be able to do all twelve", and it explains why question selection and depth beat coverage. Second, only about 8% of candidates reached S, and remember that the STEP 2 cohort is already heavily self-selected: these percentages describe a strong group, so neither frighten nor flatter yourself with them. Third, the boundaries are not plucked from the air. OCR states that they are set so that the number of successful offers closely matches the places available at the official user institutions (Cambridge, Warwick and Imperial College London), and therefore move with the cohort's performance each year. Treat the 2026 numbers as a reference frame, not a promise about any future year.

Reading STEP 3 as simply "STEP 2 on hard mode" is only half right. Structurally the two papers are identical: three hours, twelve questions, eight pure plus two mechanics plus two probability/statistics, 20 marks per question, best six counted. The real difference is the content foundation. STEP 2 is based on A level Mathematics plus AS level Further Mathematics; STEP 3 is based on A level Mathematics plus the full Further Mathematics A level. The specification adds an important nuance: the pure content of STEP 3 is the prescribed pure content of Further Maths with some topics removed and others added, not a straight copy of the course, so STEP 3 preparation has to be checked against the specification line by line rather than assumed covered by finishing Further Maths.

In 2026 the STEP 3 boundaries sat lower than STEP 2's at every grade (S=80, 1=56, 2=48, 3=30), while the cumulative percentages ran higher: 35.73% reached grade 1 or above against 28.14% on STEP 2. Do not conclude that STEP 3 is easier. Cambridge Mathematics applicants are normally asked to take both papers, so the STEP 3 cohort is largely made up of Cambridge candidates, a self-selected group at the top of the range; the distribution describes the people, not the paper.

The two papers are sat on separate days (4 June for STEP 2 and 10 June for STEP 3 in the 2026 series), so taking both is entirely workable in the calendar, and Cambridge applicants routinely do exactly that. For candidates who need only one paper, such as those on Warwick's STEP route, STEP 2 is usually the more natural pick because its content base sits closer to where most students' teaching has reached.

The list of universities that ask for STEP is shorter than people imagine, but for those on it the paper carries enormous weight.

Cambridge Mathematics (including the Mathematics with Physics route): STEP is a condition of the offer, not a pre-application test; you sit it in the summer after you apply. Applicants are normally asked to take both papers, and the published minimum offer level is grade 1 in both STEP 2 and STEP 3, alongside a minimum of AAA at A level. The exact grades required vary by College, so the page to check is the one for the College you are applying to. For 2027 entry, eight Colleges are running a flexible offer scheme: AAA with grade 1 in both papers, or AAA* with grade 1 in either, with both papers still to be taken.

Warwick Mathematics: every undergraduate mathematics applicant must sit either the TMUA or STEP. On the STEP route, the typical offer is A* in Maths, A* in Further Maths and A in a third subject, plus grade 2 in any one STEP paper; Warwick accepts either paper and leaves the choice to you.

Imperial College London Mathematics: everyone applying on or before 21 December 2026 must take the TMUA, so this is not a free choice between two tests. Applicants who apply after that date without a TMUA score usually receive an offer with a STEP condition attached, and candidates with a borderline TMUA score may also be asked for STEP.

Bath: no additional maths test is needed if you take A level Further Mathematics or IB HL Mathematics (Analysis and Approaches); where a test is required, the target is grade 2 in any STEP paper.

One final point that is often missed: STEP is open to all, so you can enter even without an offer that requires it.

Plenty of students who are securely at A* in A level Mathematics are stunned by their first STEP 2 paper. It is not that the content is unfamiliar; it is that the questions are a different shape. Broken down, the gap is three concrete things.

First, length. An A level question occupies you for a few minutes, perhaps ten or fifteen at the top end. A STEP 2 question deserves close to half an hour, built from linked parts that escalate, where the result of an early part becomes the tool for a later one. What you need is not more speed but the stamina to keep a single chain of reasoning moving for twenty to thirty minutes without losing the thread, and that stamina is only built by practising on long questions.

Second, multi-step reasoning across topics. The specification says openly that a question will often require knowledge of several topics and tests application in novel and unfamiliar settings. A level training builds a reflex of recognising the question type and deploying the standard routine. STEP 2 deliberately removes the recognition step: you must find the way in yourself, assemble the route yourself, and frequently push through substantial algebraic manipulation along the way.

Third, proof and presentation. The specification requires solutions that are clear, logical and legible, with working fully set out, standard notation followed and final answers simplified, and it warns explicitly that marks may be lost if examiners cannot follow your working, even when the final answer is right. The A level habit of "the answer is what counts" costs marks here directly. Writing mathematics well is a separate skill, and it needs deliberate practice.

The training programme follows from the diagnosis: timed work on long questions, full written solutions every time, and systematic comparison of your write-ups against official solutions and mark schemes. None of these can be substituted by doing more A level papers.

The exam-room rules for STEP 2 are strict and differ sharply from mainstream examinations, and knowing them in advance saves genuine panic on the day.

Taken together, these rules define a training requirement: practise under the real conditions, with no calculator, no formula sheet, and your working organised in a confined space from the start. The habits of checking with a calculator or fishing for a formula in a booklet are worth breaking early, and both mental arithmetic fluency and formula recall need months of accumulation, not a final-week cram.

The first resource to reach for is the free STEP Support Programme maintained by the Cambridge Faculty of Mathematics, open to everyone, with weekly online modules, hints and full solutions. The recommended rhythm is to build up through the foundation modules and step up gradually (the STEP 2 modules are suggested from September of Year 13, and the STEP 3 modules from January), moving to timed full papers in the later stages. Fully worked official solutions exist for every STEP 2 and STEP 3 paper from 2019 onwards, and the highest-value self-check available is to sit a paper under timed conditions and then debrief your write-ups against those solutions question by question.

On entries and dates, the official 2026 arrangements were: registration opened on 1 March and closed on 4 May; STEP 2 was sat on 4 June; results were released at 08:00 UK time on 13 August with grade boundaries published the same day; and 20 August was the deadline for results enquiries. Entries must be made through an authorised test centre, as candidates cannot register themselves, and some centres add an administration fee on top of the entry fee. The 2026 fees were £102.50 per paper in the UK and £142.25 (or $179.75, or €166) per paper outside the UK.

Two reminders to keep pinned. First, STEP normally needs to be sat in the same calendar year as university admission; if in doubt, ask the university directly. Second, the 2027 dates have not yet been published, and OCR reserves the right to change dates and fees, so do not treat 4 June as an annual fixture. Work from the registration window and test dates that OCR publishes for your year.