Yomi BlackThree documents get called the result and they do different jobs. Most of the trouble people run into comes from presenting one where another was required, and finding out with a deadline a week away.
- The printout
- A display of your grades. Free to view, not proof on its own.
- The certificate
- The issued award: the Cambridge IGCSE and the Cambridge International A Level
- Confirmation of result
- The body verifying your result directly to a third party
- Collected through
- Entered through a registered Cambridge school or an approved examination centre, including the British Council.
- Expiry
- None. A certificate does not expire.
- Verification
- A separate, paid process with its own document requirements
What the award is worth
The award is the Cambridge IGCSE and the Cambridge International A Level, and the grade on it is a grade read by admissions officers worldwide without translation. This is the certificate you sit when the destination is outside Nigeria, and the portability is what you are paying for.
Depth matters when somebody reads it later: this is international depth, with syllabuses written to be taught over two years and examined in components.
Three documents, one name
The printout, the certificate and the confirmation of result all get called the result, and they do different jobs. The printout displays grades. The certificate is the issued award. Confirmation is the body telling a third party directly that the award is real.
Most of the trouble people run into comes from presenting one where another was required, and discovering it at the point where a deadline is a week away.
It does not expire, and neither does a problem with it
A school certificate is permanent. So is an unresolved case attached to it. Cambridge’s own results enquiry process, which is why an old cancellation is worth pursuing rather than writing off.
Questions candidates actually ask
Does it expire?
No. A school certificate does not expire, which is why a result from years ago is still usable and why old malpractice cases still matter.
Can an employer verify it?
Yes, through the same confirmation process institutions use.
When do I collect the certificate?
It is issued after the result, through the channel that presented you. School candidates collect through the school that entered them.
Is the printout the same as the certificate?
No. The printout is a display of grades. The certificate is the issued document. A third thing, confirmation of result, is the body writing directly to an institution to verify it.
What if I lose it?
The body has a process for it, and it is slower and more expensive than looking after the original. Scan it the day you receive it.
The printout, the certificate and confirmation
The printout is what you check online. It is what most people screenshot and what schools ask for during admission processing. It is not, by itself, proof, because anyone can produce something that looks like it.
The certificate is the document the body issues. It is the award itself: the Cambridge IGCSE and the Cambridge International A Level.
Confirmation of result is the third thing, and the one people discover late. It is the body writing directly to an institution or an embassy to say the result in their hands is real. It is applied for, paid for and despatched by the body, and it exists precisely because a document handed over by a candidate proves nothing.
Collecting it
Entered through a registered Cambridge school or an approved examination centre, including the British Council.
That route is also how the certificate reaches you, which is one more reason the relationship with the presenting school or centre matters after you have left it.
A certificate does not expire and cannot easily be replaced. Photograph or scan it the day it reaches you, store the file somewhere that survives a lost phone, and keep the original flat and dry. Replacement processes exist and every one of them is slower than looking after the original.
Verification, and what it costs
Verification is charged per result and per recipient. If three institutions each want confirmation, that is three charges, not one, because the cost scales with recipients rather than with requests. Where an affidavit is required it is sworn at a law court, it takes a morning, and it has to be in hand before the rest of the application moves. Start there, not last.
An old result is still your result
Certificates do not expire, which is why a result from years ago remains usable and why an unresolved problem attached to one still matters. Cambridge’s own results enquiry process That is slow, and it is also the reason an old case is worth pursuing rather than writing off.
Next in this guide
Everything on Cambridge in one place:
- Cambridge eligibility
- Cambridge registration
- Cambridge fees
- Cambridge subjects
- Cambridge syllabus
- Cambridge timetable
Start at the Cambridge hub for the full map.
Sources
- Cambridge Assessment International Education. www.cambridgeinternational.org