Study guide
13.1 Digital vs Paper-Based and the 2026 Change
Cambridge A2 Key KET
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1 Introduction & Exam Overview
1.1 What Is Cambridge A2 Key (KET)? 1.2 Exam Format: Three Papers 1.3 Who Takes A2 Key and How It Is Delivered 1.4 Study Hours and Preparation Path
2 Scoring, Grades & Results
2.1 The Cambridge English Scale 2.2 Grades A, B, C and Certificates 2.3 How Your Overall Score Is Calculated
3 Reading Parts 1–3: Understanding Texts
3.1 Reading Overview (Parts 1–5) 3.2 Reading Part 1: Short Texts and Main Message 3.3 Reading Part 2: Multiple Matching 3.4 Reading Part 3: Longer Text Detail and Gist
4 Reading Parts 4–5: Vocabulary and Grammar Cloze
4.1 Reading Part 4: Multiple-Choice Cloze 4.2 Collocations and Phrasal Verbs for Part 4 4.3 Reading Part 5: Open Cloze 4.4 Grammar Words for Open Cloze
5 Writing Part 6: Guided Message
5.1 Writing Overview (Parts 6–7) 5.2 Part 6 Guided Writing Task 5.3 Model Emails and Content-Point Checklists
6 Writing Part 7 & Assessment Criteria
6.1 Part 7 Picture Story 6.2 Narrative Language and Connectors 6.3 Writing Assessment: Content, Organisation, Language
7 Listening Parts 1–3
7.1 Listening Paper Overview 7.2 Listening Part 1: Short Dialogues and Pictures 7.3 Listening Part 2: Gap Fill Notes 7.4 Listening Part 3: Conversation Multiple Choice
8 Listening Parts 4–5 & Detail Skills
8.1 Listening Part 4: Gist and Main Message 8.2 Listening Part 5: Matching 8.3 Numbers, Times, Prices and Spelling
9 Speaking Test
9.1 Speaking Test Format 9.2 Speaking Part 1: Interview 9.3 Speaking Part 2: Discussion 9.4 Speaking Assessment Criteria
10 A2 Grammar Essentials
10.1 Present and Past Tenses 10.2 Future Forms, Modals and Obligation 10.3 Comparatives, Superlatives, Adverbs and Word Order 10.4 Questions, Negatives and There Is/Are
11 A2 Vocabulary Topics
11.1 People, Home and Daily Routines 11.2 Free Time, Hobbies, Travel and Transport 11.3 Food, Shopping, Money and Health 11.4 Places in Town, Services and Simple Technology
12 Functional Language for Exam Tasks
12.1 Requests, Offers, Invitations and Suggestions 12.2 Opinions, Agreeing, Disagreeing and Preferences 12.3 Describing People, Places and Events; Simple Narration
13 Exam Day and Test Strategy
13.1 Digital vs Paper-Based and the 2026 Change 13.2 What Happens on Exam Day 13.3 Full Practice Tests and Timing Plans
14 Results and Next Steps
14.1 Interpreting Your Statement of Results 14.2 From A2 Key to B1 Preliminary
13.1 Digital vs Paper-Based and the 2026 Change
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
Adult A2 Key paper-based sessions end after the final session on December 3, 2026; digital A2 Key continues after that date
A2 Key for Schools continues in both digital and paper-based formats after December 3, 2026
Digital and paper versions test the same content, skills, mark schemes, and Cambridge English Scale scoring
Main format differences are answer entry, Listening transfer time on paper vs on-screen answers, on-screen timers, and digital tutorials
Choose and practise the format you will sit; results release is typically faster for digital (about 1–2 weeks) than paper-based (about 4–6 weeks)
Last updated: July 2026
13.1 Digital vs Paper-Based and the 2026 Change
Quick Answer: For adult A2 Key , the paper-based exam is withdrawn after the final session on December 3, 2026 . Digital A2 Key continues . A2 Key for Schools keeps both digital and paper-based options. The language, tasks, and Cambridge English Scale scores are the same; the difference is how you take the test (screen vs paper, timers, Listening transfer, tutorials).
Format is not a small booking detail. It changes how you click or write answers, how you use the Listening paper, and how fast your Statement of Results usually arrives. This section explains the 2026 policy, what stays identical, what feels different on the day, and how to prepare so the interface never costs you marks.
The 2026 change in plain language
Cambridge Assessment English has moved many of its adult qualifications toward digital delivery . For A2 Key (the adult exam, often still called KET), the official position candidates and centres plan around is:
- Product After December 3, 2026 session
- A2 Key (adult) Paper-based withdrawn ; digital continues
- A2 Key for Schools Both digital and paper-based continue
- What “withdrawn after the final session on December 3, 2026” means
There is a final paper-based window tied to the December 3, 2026 adult A2 Key session calendar at centres that still offer paper.
After that last paper session, new adult A2 Key bookings are digital (where the centre offers the exam).
If you need a paper version for personal preference after that date, ask your centre whether A2 Key for Schools is appropriate. Cambridge designs that version for school-age learners but does not publish a universal age-eligibility rule; your centre can advise which product to book.
Why for Schools is different
A2 Key for Schools is the same CEFR A2 level and the same core paper design (Reading and Writing, Listening, Speaking), with topics angled toward school-age candidates. Cambridge continues to support both formats for that product after the adult paper withdrawal. School cohorts and centres that rely on paper logistics (computer labs, shared devices, invigilation models) keep flexibility.
If you are an adult candidate in 2026–2027, your default planning assumption should be: I will sit digital A2 Key unless my centre’s confirmation letter says otherwise for a remaining paper session before withdrawal.
Same exam content and scoring
Digital and paper are not two different English tests. Officially and in practice for A2 Key:
Feature Same across formats?
- CEFR level Yes — A2
- Papers Yes — Reading & Writing, Listening, Speaking
- Part types and skills tested Yes
Timing of papers (design length) Yes — R&W 60 minutes ; Listening about 30 minutes (paper includes transfer); Speaking 8–10 minutes per pair
- Marks structure Yes — Reading 30 , Writing 30 , Listening 25 , Speaking criteria-based
- Cambridge English Scale / grades Yes — overall average of four skills; Grade C 120–132 , B 133–139 , A 140–150
- Certificate meaning Yes
You do not get an easier or harder certificate because you clicked instead of wrote. Equating keeps scale scores comparable across sessions and delivery modes.
What “same content” does not mean
Every candidate worldwide does not see the identical text on the same day; forms vary, but difficulty is controlled.
Screen layout is not a photocopy of the paper booklet. Questions are equivalent in skill demand, not always pixel-identical in presentation.
Speaking remains face to face with examiners whether your Reading, Writing, and Listening were digital or paper. The oral test is not replaced by a chatbot for standard centre delivery.
- How answer entry differs
- Paper-based answer entry
On paper-based A2 Key you typically:
Work from a question paper (and writing space as designed for the session).
Mark multiple-choice answers on an answer sheet with the required pencil/pen rules your centre states.
Write Part 5 open-cloze words and Writing Parts 6–7 in the designated areas.
For Listening , often write on the question paper first, then transfer answers to the answer sheet in the official transfer time.
Risks unique to paper:
Misaligned bubbles (answer for Q12 written on the Q13 line).
Illegible handwriting on open answers and Writing tasks.
Incomplete transfer after Listening.
Running out of time because you rewrote a long Part 7 story instead of planning word count.
Digital answer entry
On digital A2 Key you typically:
Read texts and questions on screen .
Select options with mouse/trackpad or allowed input device .
Type short answers and Writing into on-screen fields.
Navigate parts with on-screen controls; answers are captured as you go (exact autosave/behaviour follows the official digital platform and centre briefing).
Risks unique to digital:
Clicking the wrong option and not reviewing.
Typing errors on open cloze (extra letters, two words where one is required).
Poor keyboard familiarity if you never type English under time pressure.
Over-editing Writing until the on-screen timer ends.
Practical training rule
Practise in the format you will sit. Paper mocks alone do not train scroll-and-click habits. Digital-only practice does not train pencil transfer. If your centre has not confirmed format yet, train both lightly, then specialise two weeks before the date once the confirmation is clear.
Listening: transfer time vs on-screen answers
Listening is where candidates feel the format difference most.
- Aspect Paper-based Digital
- Hear each recording Twice Twice
- Where answers live during audio Often on the question paper first Directly on screen as you choose/type
End of test Official transfer time (commonly discussed as about 6 minutes within the ~30-minute Listening experience) to copy answers onto the answer sheet No classic paper transfer sheet ; answers are already entered on screen
- Classic trap Perfect listening, wrong transfer Perfect listening, wrong click or blank field
- Paper Listening strategy
Use the question paper as your working copy during both plays.
Mark uncertain items clearly so transfer is accurate.
Treat transfer time as a scored process , not “admin.” A wrong line shift can cost several marks in seconds.
Do not invent answers for blanks you never heard; guess only if the sheet requires a mark and you have a reasoned option.
Digital Listening strategy
Confirm the selected option after each item when the interface allows review.
For gap-fill (Part 2 style notes), type carefully on the second listening; check spelling of names and numbers.
Use any on-screen review features the tutorial teaches—do not discover them in the last minute of Part 5.
Headphones or room audio follow centre rules ; arrive early enough to test sound if the centre offers a check.
Remember: content difficulty is the same . Format only changes the error channel (transfer vs interface).
- Timers, navigation, and tutorials
- Paper timing
Invigilators announce start and end times for Reading and Writing ( 60 minutes total for that paper).
You manage a watch-free or centre-allowed clock policy—follow what your centre permits. Many centres display a room clock.
You decide how to split roughly 40 minutes reading / 20 minutes writing (see Section 13.3). No software splits the paper for you.
Digital timing
An on-screen timer usually shows remaining time for the paper or section as designed for the digital platform.
Navigation may let you move between questions within allowed rules; learn what is locked vs free during the official digital tutorial or demo.
Do not assume you can open all papers at once; digital sessions still follow invigilator and platform sequencing (Reading & Writing, then Listening, with Speaking often in a separate slot).
Tutorials and demos (non-negotiable preparation)
Cambridge and centres provide digital exam tutorials / practice environments so candidates learn buttons, flagging, and how to enter answers. Treat the tutorial as part of exam prep:
Complete it before exam day , not five minutes before check-in if the centre already scheduled a lab demo.
Practise typing a 25+ word email and a 35+ word story on a keyboard.
Practise selecting A/B/C options without double-click mistakes.
Know how to raise a hand for technical help without discussing question content.
Paper candidates still need a format tutorial of a different kind: answer sheet samples , Listening transfer drills, and handwriting that examiners can read.
Results speed and booking choices
- Format Typical Statement of Results timing Notes
- Digital Often about 1–2 weeks after the exam Faster digital release pathway candidates plan around
- Paper-based Often about 4–6 weeks after the exam Longer processing path; still official and valid
Certificates follow the Statement of Results. Exact dates depend on session and centre—always check your confirmation. Format does not change grade boundaries: 120 is still the A2 pass line on the scale.
Booking checklist for 2026 candidates
Confirm product: A2 Key vs A2 Key for Schools .
Confirm format on the centre confirmation (digital vs paper).
If adult paper is still available before withdrawal, decide using lab comfort , results urgency , and practice access —not myths that paper is “more official.”
After December 3, 2026 adult paper ends, plan digital keyboard practice as seriously as vocabulary lists.
Myths to delete from your study group chat
Myth Reality
“Digital is a different, easier exam.” Same skills, same scale, same standards.
“Paper always scores higher.” No format bonus on the certificate.
“After 2026 A2 Key disappears.” Digital adult A2 Key continues ; paper adult form is what withdraws.
“For Schools paper also ends on December 3, 2026.” For Schools keeps both formats.
“Speaking becomes computer-only when R&W is digital.” Standard Speaking stays live with two examiners in the usual centre model.
“I can learn the digital buttons on the day.” Tutorial practice prevents avoidable tech stress.
Study actions this week
Read your centre confirmation for format and dates.
Run one full Reading & Writing timed paper in that format (typed or handwritten).
Run one Listening practice with transfer (if paper) or on-screen entry (if digital).
Complete the official or centre digital tutorial if you are digital.
Keep content revision identical: Parts 1–7 skills and Speaking criteria do not change with the screen.
Master the 2026 rule, respect the same scoring framework, and train the interface. The next section walks through what actually happens on exam day from check-in to invigilator instructions so logistics never surprise you.