Escape Campus
Course Contents

CAE Preparation — the full course

A premium, communication-first path to Cambridge C1 Advanced. 10 modules · 40 lessons · 10 Review Labs · 3 Mock Exams · 1 Final CAE Simulation.

  1. KETKey · A2
  2. PETPreliminary · B1
  3. FCEFirst · B2
  4. CAEAdvanced · C1
  5. CPEProficiency · C2

About this course

Prepare for success in Cambridge C1 Advanced

CAE Preparation takes you from solid B2+ English to confident C1, ready for every paper of the Cambridge C1 Advanced exam. You'll work with authentic-feel materials, develop the language of advanced communication, and rehearse exam technique inside lessons that still feel like real conversations — not drills.

Every module strengthens reading, listening, speaking, writing and language in use together. Review Labs consolidate, mock exams test, and the final simulation gets you exam-day ready.

  • 40 Lessons
  • 10 Review Labs
  • 3 Mock Exams
  • ~55 Hours
  • Final CAE Simulation
  • 50 in total

Skills you'll develop

Five strands, woven through every module

Reading

Read long articles, opinion pieces and cross-text features with confidence — for gist, detail, attitude and inference.

Use of English

Master the grammar, collocation and word-building that hold advanced English together.

Writing

Write essays, proposals, reports, reviews and emails with the register, structure and voice expected at C1.

Listening

Follow lectures, interviews and conversations — picking up gist, specific information, attitude and agreement.

Speaking

Hold extended turns, collaborate, negotiate and discuss abstract ideas with fluency and precision.

Expected outcomes

By the end of the course, you will…

  • Walk into the Cambridge C1 Advanced exam knowing every paper, every part and every task type.
  • Read and listen to authentic C1 material for gist, detail, attitude, opinion and inference.
  • Write all five Writing genres — essay, proposal, report, review, email/letter — with confident register control.
  • Speak fluently across all four Speaking parts: interview, long turn, collaboration and discussion.
  • Use advanced grammar — inversion, cleft, nominalisation, modality — naturally in real communication.
  • Sit three full mock exams plus a final CAE simulation under realistic timing.

Module roadmap

10 modules · 40 lessons

Each module ends in a communicative Review Lab. Mock exams sit between modules so the teaching never stops.

Module 1 · Lessons 01–04

Foundations of CAE

Map the exam, set your voice

CEFR C1-

Get oriented to the four CAE papers, take a low-stakes baseline across each, and start building the communicative range Cambridge rewards.

What you'll be able to do: Talk about yourself with range and precision; respond to short audio with confidence; meet the CAE landscape without anxiety.

Lessons

  1. 01

    Welcome to CAE

    The exam, the journey, your starting voice

    Talking about yourself, your goals and your study story.

  2. 02

    Speaking Part 1 with Range

    Talking about yourself beyond the script

    Holding personal conversation with nuance, not rehearsed lines.

  3. 03

    R&UoE Part 1 in Depth

    Multiple Choice Cloze: collocation & nuance

    Choosing the precise word in real writing, not just the exam.

  4. 04

    Listening Part 1 Decoded

    Short extracts: gist, attitude, feeling

    Reading tone in real conversation, podcasts and interviews.

Learning outcomes

  • Describe the four CAE papers and what each rewards.
  • Speak fluently in Speaking Part 1 with evaluative, precise lexis.
  • Approach R&UoE Part 1 with collocation awareness.
  • Catch gist, attitude and feeling in Listening Part 1 extracts.

Review Lab 1

Review Lab 1 — Diagnostic Lab

Consolidate Lessons 01–04

A communicative diagnostic: learners rotate through a Speaking P1 interview, a short R&UoE P1 sample, three Listening P1 extracts and a 100-word personal statement, then debrief in pairs on what felt strong and what to target.

Self-talk with rangeExam stanceListening for attitudeDiagnostic self-awareness

Module 2 · Lessons 05–08

Grammar in Action

Structures that get marks and get meaning

CEFR C1

Activate the high-leverage C1 structures Cambridge tests directly (KWT, inversion, cleft) while spiralling R&UoE and Listening throughout.

What you'll be able to do: Use advanced structures naturally in speech and writing; transform meaning precisely; take accurate notes from live speech.

Lessons

  1. 05

    Key Word Transformations

    Patterns, paraphrase and precision

    Paraphrasing accurately — a real-world editing skill.

  2. 06

    Inversion & Cleft

    Emphasis that lands in speech and writing

    Foregrounding what matters when you speak persuasively.

  3. 07

    R&UoE Part 2 Open Cloze

    Grammar in discourse, not in isolation

    Following — and writing — texts that hang together.

  4. 08

    Listening Part 2 Notes & Detail

    Sentence completion from extended monologue

    Note-taking in lectures, briefings and talks.

Learning outcomes

  • Perform Key Word Transformations with control and natural meaning.
  • Use inversion and cleft sentences for emphasis in real speech.
  • Approach Open Cloze with grammar-in-discourse awareness.
  • Complete sentence-completion tasks from extended audio.

Review Lab 2

Review Lab 2 — Use of English Clinic

Consolidate Lessons 05–08

A communicative grammar clinic: pairs solve mixed R&UoE items together, justify their answers aloud, then run a 'live grammar' Speaking P3 task using the target structures.

Transformation controlCohesionListening for detailTalking through grammar

Module 3 · Lessons 09–12

Word Power

Lexical range, formation and the essay

CEFR C1

Build deep word knowledge through formation, multiple-choice reading and the CAE essay — your first major writing genre.

What you'll be able to do: Form, choose and combine words with C1 precision; read long arguments closely; write an essay that argues, not just describes.

Lessons

  1. 09

    Word Formation in Depth

    Suffixes, prefixes and internal change

    Expanding active vocabulary by family, not by item.

  2. 10

    R&UoE Part 3 in Context

    Word formation under exam pressure

    Hearing forms in interviews and recognising them on the page.

  3. 11

    Reading Part 5 Close Reading

    Multiple choice on a long text

    Reading long-form journalism with comprehension and stance.

  4. 12

    Writing Part 1 The Essay

    Argument, balance and cohesion

    Writing the kind of structured argument university and work demand.

Learning outcomes

  • Use prefixes, suffixes and internal change to form C1 vocabulary.
  • Decode R&UoE P3 stems and choose register-appropriate forms.
  • Read long opinion texts and answer detail / inference questions.
  • Plan and draft a CAE essay with stance, balance and cohesion.

Review Lab 3

Review Lab 3 — Essay Workshop

Consolidate Lessons 09–12

A collaborative essay studio: learners co-plan a CAE essay prompt, write to time, swap for peer critique using a CAE-style band guide and discuss revisions aloud in a Speaking P3 frame.

Stance writingPeer critiqueLexical rangeSpeaking about ideas

Module 4 · Lessons 13–16

Reading & Listening Strands

Discourse, opinion and the long turn

CEFR C1

Take on the hardest Reading and Listening parts and pair them with Speaking Part 2, building the cross-text comparison and long-form discourse skills CAE rewards.

What you'll be able to do: Compare opinions across sources; track cohesion in long texts; follow long interviews; talk fluently for a minute on photo prompts.

Lessons

  1. 13

    Reading Part 6 Across Texts

    Cross-text multiple matching of opinion

    Reading several writers on one issue and seeing where they agree.

  2. 14

    Reading Part 7 Gapped Text

    Cohesion, reference and discourse signposts

    Following long-form arguments without losing the thread.

  3. 15

    Listening Part 3 Long Interview

    Tracking attitude over time

    Listening to long interviews and forming your own response.

  4. 16

    Speaking Part 2 Long Turn

    Comparing photos with timing and stance

    Speaking for a minute with structure, comparison and personal angle.

Learning outcomes

  • Match opinions and attitudes across four short texts (P6).
  • Reconstruct cohesion in gapped long texts (P7).
  • Track ideas and attitude across a long interview (Listening P3).
  • Compare, speculate and answer in Speaking Part 2 with timing.

Review Lab 4

Review Lab 4 — Reading Scenarios Lab

Consolidate Lessons 13–16

Learners receive a 'topic dossier' (4 short texts + a gapped long-read + a photo pair), read in groups, then run a discussion that includes a Speaking P2 long turn and a P3-style decision.

Cross-text readingCohesionLong turnDiscussion

Module 5 · Lessons 17–20

Mock Exam 1 & Writing Genres I

First full sitting, then the formal genres

CEFR C1

Sit a full Mock Exam, then turn the experience into a real teaching lesson on communication strategy — and add Proposals and Reports to your writing range.

What you'll be able to do: Sit a CAE paper end-to-end; reflect on it as a communication event; write formal proposals and reports that get read and acted on.

Lessons

  1. 17

    Mock Exam 1 Full Sitting

    Reading & Use of English · Listening · Writing · Speaking

    Experiencing the full exam rhythm — a real performance event.

  2. 18

    After the Mock Patterns & Voice

    Genuine lesson: error patterns, recasting and stance language

    Turning mistakes into named target language you can hear yourself use.

  3. 19

    Writing Part 2 The Proposal

    Persuasion, structure and formal register

    Writing a proposal a decision-maker would actually approve.

  4. 20

    Writing Part 2 The Report

    Neutral register, sections and recommendation

    Producing the kind of report used at work and in study.

Learning outcomes

  • Complete a full Mock Exam under timed conditions.
  • Diagnose patterns in your own performance and reframe them as language goals.
  • Write a CAE Proposal with persuasive structure and formal register.
  • Write a CAE Report with neutral register, headings and recommendation.

Review Lab 5

Review Lab 5 — Proposal & Report Studio

Consolidate Lessons 17–20

Mixed teams receive a real-world brief, agree a position in a Speaking P3 task, split into proposal vs report drafters and present back with peer critique against CAE band descriptors.

Formal genresPersuasionCollaborative decision-makingPeer critique

Module 6 · Lessons 21–24

Listening & Speaking Strands

Many voices, real interaction

CEFR C1

Step up to Listening Part 4 (multi-speaker) and the full Speaking P3–P4 sequence, with negotiation and mediation woven through.

What you'll be able to do: Track multiple speakers and opinions; negotiate, persuade and mediate; sustain a real discussion under exam pressure.

Lessons

  1. 21

    Listening Part 4 Many Voices

    Multiple matching from monologues

    Tuning into five different voices on the same theme.

  2. 22

    Speaking Part 3 Deciding Together

    Collaborative task that reaches a real decision

    Talking your way to a shared decision — at work, in study, anywhere.

  3. 23

    Speaking Part 4 Extended Opinion

    Discussion with stance, nuance and follow-up

    Holding your own in a real intellectual conversation.

  4. 24

    Negotiation & Mediation

    Persuasion, diplomatic disagreement, repair

    Disagreeing without breaking the relationship.

Learning outcomes

  • Match opinions across five short monologues (Listening P4).
  • Run a collaborative task that actually reaches a decision.
  • Sustain extended opinion in Speaking Part 4 with stance and nuance.
  • Negotiate, mediate and disagree diplomatically under pressure.

Review Lab 6

Review Lab 6 — Paired Speaking Lab

Consolidate Lessons 21–24

Full simulated Speaking sittings in trios (two candidates + observer/examiner) with rotation, peer feedback against CAE Speaking criteria, and a short R&UoE warm-up to keep the spiral live.

All Speaking partsNegotiationPeer assessmentDiplomatic disagreement

Module 7 · Lessons 25–28

Advanced Grammar & Spiral R&UoE

Stance, modality, nominalisation

CEFR C1+

Layer in the structures that distinguish strong CAE performances — and spiral all four R&UoE parts at once.

What you'll be able to do: Express stance, calibrate certainty and write/speak with nominalised, cohesive density without losing voice.

Lessons

  1. 25

    Inversion, Cleft & Fronting

    Stance structures that earn marks

    Sounding considered and emphatic without sounding theatrical.

  2. 26

    Modality & Hedging

    Calibrated certainty across genres

    Saying exactly how sure you are — no more, no less.

  3. 27

    Nominalisation & Cohesion

    Density and flow in long texts

    Writing the dense, formal prose CAE Writing and real reports use.

  4. 28

    Spiral R&UoE Mixed Practice

    All four parts in one sitting

    Switching modes fluently between exam parts under time.

Learning outcomes

  • Use inversion, cleft and fronting for stance — not for show.
  • Calibrate certainty with modality and hedging across genres.
  • Use nominalisation for cohesion in reports and long texts.
  • Move fluently across all four R&UoE parts in mixed practice.

Review Lab 7

Review Lab 7 — Full R&UoE Lab

Consolidate Lessons 25–28

A communicative R&UoE lab: pairs race through all four parts on a shared theme, then run a Listening P2 note-taking task and a Speaking P2 long turn on the same topic to keep the language alive.

All R&UoE partsStance languageCohesionSpeaking from text

Module 8 · Lessons 29–32

Mock Exam 2 & Writing Genres II

Mid-course sitting, then Review and Correspondence

CEFR C1+

Second full Mock, a genuine teaching lesson on stamina and strategy, then the Review and Email/Letter genres — your full Writing range.

What you'll be able to do: Sustain performance across a long paper; write reviews with voice; handle formal and semi-formal correspondence with tact.

Lessons

  1. 29

    Mock Exam 2 Full Sitting

    Reading & Use of English · Listening · Writing · Speaking

    Building exam stamina the only way it can be built — by doing it.

  2. 30

    After the Mock Stamina & Strategy

    Genuine lesson: pacing, decision-making, stance language

    Naming the language you'll use to manage time, decisions and risk.

  3. 31

    Writing Part 2 The Review

    Personal voice, evaluation and recommendation

    Writing the kind of review people actually read and trust.

  4. 32

    Writing Part 2 Email & Letter

    Formal and semi-formal correspondence

    Handling sensitive emails at work and in study with tact.

Learning outcomes

  • Complete a second full Mock Exam with better strategy and stamina.
  • Extract communication and language goals from mock performance.
  • Write a CAE Review with personal voice, evaluation and recommendation.
  • Write CAE Emails and Letters across formal/semi-formal register.

Review Lab 8

Review Lab 8 — Review & Correspondence Studio

Consolidate Lessons 29–32

Teams co-draft a Review and a chain of emails around one scenario, justify choices aloud in a Speaking P3/P4 frame and peer-critique against CAE Writing descriptors.

Evaluative writingRegister controlJustificationPeer critique

Module 9 · Lessons 33–36

Exam Strategy in Action

Time, error, recovery, polish

CEFR C1+

Strategy as language: the specific words and moves that buy time, repair errors, recover under pressure and edit your own writing in real time.

What you'll be able to do: Manage time across all four papers; self-correct in flight; recover and repair in speech; edit writing to land in 45 minutes.

Lessons

  1. 33

    Time Across All Papers

    Pacing R&UoE, Reading and Listening

    Pacing yourself in any high-stakes reading and listening task.

  2. 34

    Error Patterns & Self-Correction

    Genuine teaching: noticing, naming, fixing

    Catching yourself mid-sentence and recovering elegantly.

  3. 35

    Speaking Under Pressure

    Repair, recasting, recovery in real time

    Sounding fluent even when something goes wrong.

  4. 36

    Writing in 45 Minutes

    Planning, drafting and editing to time

    Producing a polished piece in 45 minutes — useful far beyond CAE.

Learning outcomes

  • Time-manage Reading & Use of English and Listening with rules of thumb.
  • Diagnose your own error patterns and name them in real time.
  • Repair, recast and recover under speaking pressure.
  • Plan, draft and edit a Writing task in 45 minutes without panic.

Review Lab 9

Review Lab 9 — Endurance Lab

Consolidate Lessons 33–36

A half-paper timed sitting (R&UoE + Listening) followed by a communicative debrief: pairs name what slowed them down, swap strategies and run a Speaking P3 task on 'how to perform under pressure'.

PacingStrategy talkRepair languageReflective debrief

Module 10 · Lessons 37–40

Mock Exam 3 & Final CAE Simulation

Last sitting, final polish, exam-day readiness

CEFR C1+

Third full Mock, a genuine teaching lesson on closing the last gaps, Speaking and Writing polish, then the Final CAE Simulation — your exam-day dress rehearsal.

What you'll be able to do: Walk into the real exam already familiar with the rhythm; speak and write with polish, range and interaction; manage exam-day nerves with language strategies.

Lessons

  1. 37

    Mock Exam 3 Full Sitting

    Reading & Use of English · Listening · Writing · Speaking

    Doing the exam one last time before the real one — calmly.

  2. 38

    After the Mock Closing the Gaps

    Genuine lesson: targeted reformulation and register polish

    Naming the last few gaps and the language that closes them.

  3. 39

    Speaking Polish Range & Interaction

    Range, fluency and interaction marks

    Sounding like a confident C1 user, not a candidate.

  4. 40

    Writing Polish & Exam Day

    Register, cohesion, and the day itself

    Walking into exam day with a plan and the words for it.

Learning outcomes

  • Complete a third full Mock Exam with confident pacing.
  • Close gaps with targeted, named language interventions.
  • Polish Speaking for range, fluency and interaction marks.
  • Polish Writing for register, cohesion and exam-day readiness.

Review Lab 10

Review Lab 10 — Final CAE Simulation

Consolidate Lessons 37–40

A full simulated exam day — Reading & Use of English, Listening, Writing and Speaking — followed by a communicative debrief in which learners articulate, in C1 English, what changed across the course.

Full exam performanceReflective synthesisStance & nuanceExam-day language

Mock Exam Pathway

Assessment that teaches

A diagnostic at the start, three full mock exams along the way, and a final simulation at the end — each followed by a teaching lesson, not an admin debrief.

  1. Diagnostic Lab

    Review Lab 1

  2. Mock Exam 1 + 'After the Mock: Patterns & Voice'

    Module 5

  3. Mock Exam 2 + 'After the Mock: Stamina & Strategy'

    Module 8

  4. Mock Exam 3 + 'After the Mock: Closing the Gaps'

    Module 10

  5. Final CAE Simulation

    Review Lab 10