Cambridge Young Learners practice: Starters to Flyers
Cambridge Young Learners practice for the three levels children actually sit: Pre A1 Starters, A1 Movers and A2 Flyers. Each topic below is one lesson-sized page with forty original questions, the errors children at that stage really make, and short teaching notes written for the adult sitting next to them. Nothing here is copied from an exam paper; every question was written for this site.
Who Cambridge Young Learners is for
- Primary teachers running a weekly exam-prep slot who need material already pitched at the right level.
- Parents who want ten quiet minutes of English practice at home without buying a whole coursebook.
- Private tutors who need a quick diagnostic before deciding whether a child should sit Starters, Movers or Flyers.
- Language schools placing children into groups and wanting the same task types at three difficulty steps.
- Teachers of mixed classes who need extra items for the fast finishers and simpler ones for the children still building confidence.
- Parents whose child has done the exam once already and wants to collect more shields next time.
- Anyone bridging a child from Flyers towards A2 Key for Schools and looking for the gap between the two.
The exam at a glance
| Ages | Roughly 6 to 12, depending on the level |
|---|---|
| Levels | Pre A1 Starters, A1 Movers, A2 Flyers |
| Papers | Listening, Reading and Writing, Speaking |
| Results | Shields for each paper, not a pass or a fail |
| Top score | Five shields in a paper |
| Length | Short papers; even Flyers takes well under two hours in total |
| Purpose | A first, friendly exam experience and a step towards A2 Key for Schools |
Note
Pick Two Activity is an independent tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Cambridge University Press & Assessment, the British Council, IDP, ETS, Duolingo or any other exam board. Exam names are trademarks of their owners and are used here only to describe the exam you are preparing for. Every question on this page is original practice written by us: we do not provide, copy or reproduce official exam papers.
The papers
Pre A1 Starters
Pre A1 Starters practice for young children: classroom words, colours and numbers, animals, family and home, and the tick-or-cross reading task.
A1 Movers
A1 Movers practice for children: present continuous and routines, prepositions of place, comparing things, picture stories and the listening tasks.
A2 Flyers
A2 Flyers practice for children: past simple and irregular verbs, going to for the future, health and the body, gap-fill reading and picture differences.
Frequently asked questions
Which Young Learners level should my child take?
Match the level to the child's English, not to their age. Pre A1 Starters suits a child in their first year or two of English, A1 Movers a child who can make simple sentences, and A2 Flyers a child who can talk about the past and the future.
Is there a pass or a fail?
No. Every child who takes the test receives a certificate showing shields for each paper, with five as the top score. The design is deliberately encouraging: the aim is to reward what a child can do.
How many papers are there?
Three at every level: Listening, Reading and Writing, and Speaking. The papers get longer and harder from Starters to Flyers, but the shape stays the same, which is one reason children find the second and third levels less daunting.
How long does each level take?
Starters is the shortest, Flyers the longest, and even Flyers is well under two hours in total. The speaking test is only a few minutes and is done one to one with a friendly examiner.
How long should we prepare?
A few months of short, regular practice is plenty. Ten minutes several times a week works far better for children of this age than long weekend sessions.
What comes after Flyers?
A2 Key for Schools is the usual next step. A child who is comfortable at Flyers has most of the grammar for it and mainly needs more vocabulary and longer writing.
Does my child need to be able to write well?
Only a little. Starters is mostly copying, Movers asks for single words and short phrases, and Flyers asks for short answers of a few words. None of the levels expects an essay.
How do I keep practice positive?
Keep sessions short, finish while the child still wants more, and praise what went right before mentioning what did not. Children who enjoy the preparation do better on the day and come back for the next level.
Do the shields mean my child can move up a level?
They are a guide rather than a rule. A child collecting four or five shields across the papers is usually ready for the next level; a child collecting one or two will benefit from more time at the current one.
Are these practice questions the same as the real exam?
No, and deliberately so. Everything here is original material written for this site, designed to practise the same skills and task shapes. We do not reproduce official papers.