STEP Mathematics

• STEP Mathematics

Registration opening: 11:00 on 4 March 2025 (China Local Time)

Registration closing: 16:00 on 30 April 2025 (China Local Time)

Exam Date:

STEP 2 - 15:00-18:00 on 11 June 2025 (China Local Time)

STEP 3 - 15:00-18:00 on 16 June 2025 (China Local Time)

Test Format: Paper-based Test

• Exam Registration

Please kindly visit British Council registration website using Google Chrome or Fire Fox browser on computer. For more details, please kindly refer to below guidance. (Click to download)

  • Portal Registration and Payment Guidance

  • Application Guidance

Contact us if you encounter any problems while registering for exams.

British Council will run exams in 13 cities across China, venue information will be released 1 week before the test day via email.

Office	City
Beijing	Beijing, Wuhan, Jinan, Qingdao, Xi’an, Dalian
Shanghai	Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou
Guangzhou	Guangzhou, Shenzhen
Chongqing	Chongqing

Exam fee

Subject Name	Exam Fee/per paper (CNY)
STEP 2	2720.23
STEP 3	2720.23

*The test fee above is VAT included, which includes board fee, venue hire, invigilation charges, secure storage of question papers and courier charges. Exam service fee will be doubled if tests are arranged on public holidays in mainland China.

Terms of payment

All the fees above must be paid by candidates through the British Council Exams Online System. All fees must be paid no later than the test entry deadline published by the British Council.

Exam cancellation

Cancellation can be requested before the BC Company's registration cut-off date and candidate will receive a partial refund of the local test service fee (after deduction of an administration fee of 30% local test service fee), The refund of board fee (if applicable) is subject to exam board’s policy.

After the BC Company's cut-off date, only under certain special circumstances will candidate be allowed to cancel the test. For example, candidate wants to cancel the test for medical reasons, cancellation application needs to be submitted with supporting medical evidence provided before the test day. The cancellation application needs to be submitted to the British Council Global Exams Services National service hotline (Email: Globalexams.China@britishcouncil.org.cn, Tel: 010-58103306, Service hour: 09:00-12:00, 13:30-17:00, Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays). The BC Company reserves the right to check the supporting documents and to decide whether to approve the cancellation application or not. If the cancellation application is approved, the candidate will receive a partial refund of the local test service fee (after deduction of an administration fee of 30% local test service fee). The refund of board fee (if applicable) is subject to exam board’s policy.

Cancellation applications will not be accepted after the test day.

1.Candidates must bring the same and valid original identity document on the test day as the one recorded in your applications well as this Exam confirmation letter.  

Following identity documents are acceptable for exams registration and sitting: 

-Valid 2nd generation national Identification or Passport for Chinese nationals from mainland China 

-Valid Identification, Passport or Hong Kong / Macau Residents' Residence Permit for Chinese nationals from Hong Kong and Macau  

- Valid Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents of China or Taiwan Residents' Residence Permit for Chinese nationals from Taiwan 

-Valid Passport for foreign nationals 

Candidates may not be allowed to take the examination if they fail to present acceptable identity documents. 

2.Candidates are required to arrive at the test venue at least 30 minutes in advance. 

3.Candidates are required to bring their own writing stationery and materials permitted by the testing institution. Candidates can bring a bottle of transparent bottled water with labels removed into the examination room.

4.Candidates are not allowed to bring any electronic devices such as mobile phones and any watches into the exam room. 

5.Candidates are not allowed to bring any test related materials such as test papers, answer sheets, draft papers, etc. out of the examination room. 

6. Minor candidates (Under 18), please contact the invigilators on site when arrive at the test venue. If minor candidates choose to be picked up by parents/guardians after the examination, parents/guardians should bring their valid ID document to pick up the candidates in the designated area of the venue. 

7. Before the exam, if there are any notifications or updates about the exam, we will contact you through the email or phone number you used during the registration. Please pay attention.

Results enquiries

If candidate believes their results do not reflect their performance on the day of the test，it is possible to submit a results enquiry. 

Results enquiries involve:

• A check of the data to make sure results have been accurately reported. 
• A review of examiner-marked components by a senior examiner who was not responsible for awarding the original marks, to make sure the marking criteria were appropriately applied.

Results enquiries can be submitted by candidate or by the centre on candidate’s behalf.

Before submitting the request, please be aware that, following a results enquiry, results can go down as well as up and this could affect your university application.

Submitting a results enquiry by candidate

To request a results enquiry, please submit the form on OCR’s Results Online system within five working days of the results release date. 

Submitting a results enquiry through the centre

Application deadline: To be confirmed in late July 2025

Application guidance: To be confirmed in late July 2025

Service fee: To be confirmed in late July 2025

* The above price is after tax and includes 3% VAT. Each fee includes the board fee and a local service fee that is to be confirmed in late July 2025.

Processing time: To be confirmed in late July 2025

If candidates have applied to the University of Cambridge, the University of Warwick or Imperial College London, OCR will notify them directly of any change to the results. Other institutions will be notified via UCAS. 

Please be noted that STEP Mathematics does not provide the services of "Access to scripts" and "Returning scripts to candidates".

Q1: What is UCAS ID？

When you register with UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) Apply, you will get a 10-digit Personal ID Number like this: 123-456-7890. It is very important to ensure that your UCAS ID and personal details submitted to us are accurate and match what you put in your UCAS application, so that your results can be sent to the correct university.

Q2: How long is the result valid for?

The result is only valid for the year the test is taken and cannot be carried over to a re-application.

Q3: Can I take the exam this year if I don’t plan to apply for university in this year?

Yes, but as the result is only valid for the year the test is taken and cannot be carried over to a re-application, you need to take the exam again in the year you plan to apply for universities.

Q4: How to deal with the time clash between different exam boards ?

For the timetable clash between STEP Mathematics registered at British Council centres and other exams registered at other centres, we could not provide timetable variation for STEP Mathematics as British Council implements unified start time in mainland China region. Therefore, please confirm with exam centres for your other tests whether timetable variation could be approved.