Cambridge FCE, officially B2 First, tests English at the CEFR B2 level.
For candidates preparing for Cambridge B2 First (FCE). Lifelong certificate.
Cambridge B2 First (FCE) certifies an upper-intermediate command of everyday and semi-formal English. Its vocabulary centres on common topics, work, relationships, travel, media, health, with strong attention to phrasal verbs, collocation, and word formation, which the Use of English paper tests directly. The exam wants accurate, natural word choice rather than rare or showy vocabulary. This maps cleanly to CEFR B2.
You're at FCE level if you can communicate effectively on familiar matters, follow most everyday speech and writing, and produce clear connected text with reasonable accuracy. FCE is a widely recognised proof of B2 for work and study, and crucially it is a lifelong certificate that does not expire. Many employers and some universities accept it as evidence of working proficiency. The exam's structure means word formation and phrasal verbs are not optional, they are scored explicitly.
Make phrasal verbs and word formation a daily habit, since the Use of English paper tests exactly these and they are where candidates lose easy marks. Learn vocabulary in collocation and across word families (decide, decision, decisive, decisively) and review them with spaced repetition so the right form is automatic in the open cloze and word-formation tasks. Read and listen to general-interest material, magazines, podcasts, mainstream news, to build the everyday register the exam uses. Do full timed Use of English papers, as much of FCE vocabulary success is recognising the gap a specific collocation or affix fills.