Who Owns Cambridge International?

Cambridge International's history begins with the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate, formed in 1858. The University created it to raise school standards by setting exams for students who were not university members, starting with 370 candidates in seven English cities.

The Syndicate began examining internationally in 1864, and that side of the work grew quickly through the British Empire and beyond. For more than a century, UCLES ran UK exams such as the School Certificate while building a parallel international examination business.

In 1998 a restructuring split the Syndicate's work into three exam boards: Cambridge International Examinations for the global business, Cambridge Assessment English for language qualifications, and OCR for UK schools. The parent body adopted the name Cambridge Assessment in 2005.

The international arm became known as CIE, then Cambridge International Examinations, then Cambridge Assessment International Education. Its flagship products were the IGCSE, developed from 1988 as an international version of the GCSE, and International AS and A Levels, which became standard qualifications in British-curriculum schools worldwide.

In August 2021, Cambridge Assessment merged with Cambridge University Press to form Cambridge University Press & Assessment. The international education group, formed in August 2022, combined the exam board with Cambridge University Press Education and the Cambridge Partnership for Education under the name Cambridge International Education, returning to the CIE abbreviation.

Today the board serves about 10,000 schools in more than 160 countries. It is the largest provider of international programmes for ages 5 to 19, with entries concentrated in Asia, the Middle East, and among British international schools worldwide.