Why do some component codes in the Cambridge Guide to Making Entries and timetable not match the component numbers in the syllabus?

We operate a system of entry option codes based on location. In practice, this means that the component number given in the syllabus will not always match up with the component code on the timetable or in the Cambridge Guide to Making Entries.

In order to maintain the security of our confidential exam materials, we generally need to produce three different variants of each question paper. Each of these variants will be taken by centres in two of the six administrative zones, whose key times will align for all candidates taking the same variant of a paper and thereby ensure the integrity of the paper is maintained.

When the component code has two digits, the first digit is the component number given in the syllabus, for example Paper 1 or Paper 2; and the second digit is the paper variant specific to your administrative zone for that exam series. For example, component 23 is the third variant of Paper 2.

Be aware that the variant allocated for a zone can vary from series to series and from syllabus to syllabus. So, for example, whilst you may have candidates sitting component 21 for a particular syllabus one series, the equivalent paper of the same syllabus might be component 22 in a subsequent series; equally one syllabus might have variants all ending in a 1 in a series, whereas another syllabus in the same series might include variants that all end in 2 or 3.

This doesn't make any material difference to candidates when they are sitting exams, but it does highlight the importance of making reference every series to the Guide to Making Entries and/or timetable for your zone to confirm the appropriate variant for each syllabus for the specific series in question. The exam materials we send you will always match the corresponding variant details in your zone's Guide to Making Entries and timetable for that series.

In practice all of this means, when comparing one of your candidates' results to the grade thresholds, you always need to ensure you are using the set of thresholds that reflects the paper variants and the entry option the candidate was entered for in that series. Where you are using past papers for the purposes of a mock exam, you would need to ensure you are using the grade thresholds that align with the past paper variants you had chosen to use. You don't necessarily need to use the variant your candidates actually sat in that particular past series though, so you can make use of other variants at your discretion when setting mocks, which gives you a wider range of past papers to choose from.