The Student Room Group

STEP Prep Thread 2016

Welcome to the 2016 STEP prep thread. This is the place to discuss, post problems, or ask any questions you may have regarding the exam!

Note about timings: based on previous threads, there are always some who will make a start in the 2015 summer holidays. Don't worry if you're not one of them! Most people will start seriously in January 2016, because that's when Cambridge will make their STEP offers. Please do not be put off if you read the thread and can't follow the thread. This thread is open to all, no matter what your level of preparedness - please ask your questions and hopefully someone will be able to help you. The only thing I ask is to read this first post in case it already answers your question :smile:

If you are reading this ahead of Cambridge interviews, AEA, MAT and STEP I can be great practice for problem-solving, which is basically what the interview is about.

Acknowledgements: most of this information has been collected by people taking STEP in the past so hopefully you'll find the resources here useful. Particular thanks to @Lord of the Flies for making the original version of this.

0. General information

What is STEP?

STEP is a series of three exams taken late June each year, usually in Year 13, almost always because it forms part of a university offer. Which papers are sat depends on the university.

STEP I is the easiest, and STEP II and III are meant to be of similar difficulty.

Until recently, STEP was a Cambridge entrance exam in everything but name. These days, the majority of STEP candidates are not Cambridge offer holders.

2016 exam dates

STEP I: 14 June 2016 (am)
STEP II: 16 June 2016 (am)
STEP III: 23 June 2016 (pm)

STEP grading and typical offers

STEP is graded as follows:
S - outstanding
1 - very good
2 - good
3 - satisfactory
U - ungraded

Remember that STEP is aimed at the top 2% of all maths A-level students, so it is meant to be hard. Typical offers are:

- Cambridge: 1, 1 in STEP II and III
- Warwick: 2 in any paper (with A*, A*), or 1 in any paper (with A*, A)
- Imperial: typical offers are now based on MAT. Occasionally, there are some STEP based offers (most often a 1 or 2 in STEP II or III)
- UCL: 1 in any paper can make up for an A* (if A* A* A is achieved, there is no need for STEP)
- Bath: Occasional offers include a 2 in a STEP paper.

What is the point of STEP?

I'll defer to Dr. Siklos:

Dr. Siklos
From the point of view of admissions to a university mathematics course, STEP has three purposes.


First, it acts as a hurdle: success in STEP is thought to be a good indicator of potential to do well on a difficult course.

Second, it acts as preparation for the course, because the style of mathematics found in STEP questions is similar to that of undergraduate mathematics.

Thirdly, it tests motivation. It is important to prepare for STEP (by working through old papers, for example), which can require considerable dedication. Those who are not willing to make the effort are unlikely to thrive on a difficult mathematics course.

From my perspective, these are all excellent reasons for aspiring mathematicians to give STEP a go. Note that there is something very important that STEP does not do. It is not meant as a bridging course between A-Levels (or equivalent) and university. In particular, STEP requires very little additional maths beyond what you are taught at A-Level. What is different is the style and ingenuity required to answer a STEP question compared to an A-Level question.

Note: You may have heard that Cambridge is introducing entrance exams at the interview stage for all students. The Mathematics Admissions Committee have confirmed that they will continue to use STEP for the basis of their admissions.

Exam conditions

- Each paper is 3 hours long.
- No calculators are allowed, but you do get a formula booklet
- You are given answer booklets with lined paper.

Do all of your working in this booklet. Every year someone asks whether scrap paper is given. You have no need for it - the only way you can get marks is if the examiner sees your work. This includes all arithmetic / algebra that you would want to do on the side. You don't get marks for being neat, you get marks for doing correct maths.

- You are given no reading time, and therefore choosing the right questions is key.

If you're finding STEP hard...

You're in the right place - it is hard and this thread is designed to help you.

Some stupendously intelligent people do not do well at STEP, either through lack of preparation or just a bad day. STEP is aimed at the top 2% of those who take A-Level mathematics. About 2100 STEP papers were sat in 2008, which equates to about 1000 people (because most people sat 2 papers). You have to be very good at maths to think about giving STEP a go.

That's not to say you can't prepare. If you're reading this, it means you want to do well. There are plenty of resources to help, including this thread. Most importantly, with practice and dedication, you have every chance of excelling.

You do not have to be a genius to do well in STEP (but it does help of course :smile: ).

1. Required knowledge

See here for the direct link to the full Specification.

For STEP I and II, the syllabus is:
- Pure (Q1-8): C1-C4 plus proof by induction.
- Mechanics (Q9-11): M1-M2
- Statistics (Q12-13): S1-S2

If you are trying to prepare for STEP I, you really should cover C3 and C4 first to give yourself enough to do - covering this material and being comfortable with it by January 2016 is highly recommended. If you want extension material before you cover C3 and C4, you might want to look at the MAT.

For STEP III, the syllabus also covers Further Maths. Note in particular that for the applied:
- Moments of inertia and motion around a fixed axis is on-syllabus (typically in M4/5)
- Relative motion is on-syllabus (but not tested often - typically in M4)
- Generating functions are on-syllabus (but I believe no longer in any A-level module)

NEW (29.11.15):Krollo, Zacken and Number Nine have kindly categorised all questions by topic - see the spreadsheet in this post. STEP II questions here.

2. The STEP Megapack

Download the latest version of the pack here. (Note it is nearly 100MB! See section 3 for details where you can download individual files.)

This includes:
- Past papers from 1987 - 2014 it will include 2015 once released
- Official solutions (2004 onwards) and examiners' reports (2007 onwards)
- Both of Dr. Siklos' booklets*
- Specification (i.e. the syllabus)
- The formula booklet

More information about the Siklos booklets:

1. Advanced Problems in Core Mathematics - 67 problems, some from
STEP papers. This is the revised version of the original booklet, based on the current A-Level syllabus. More details are given than the original, with a nice intro. It is a good idea to start with this one.

2. Advanced Problems in Mathematics - 43 problems mostly taken from STEP papers, some adapted. As good as the first one but the problems are taken from older papers, so the Core Maths booklet is probably the most relevant.

NEW (29.03.16): Siklos has amalgamated the above booklets into a book: you can download this for free from the link at: http://www.openbookpublishers.com/product/342/advanced-problems-in-mathematics--preparing-for-university

If you can afford it, please consider buying the paperback, because it's nice to give a little something back to the person who's torturing you with STEP papers :tongue:

*Siklos has had an awful lot to do with STEP, including writing exams, being the principal examiner, organising the Cambridge Easter prep sessions and advising on the admissions process for Cambridge. These booklets come highly recommended and are a great place to start preparing for STEP.

3. Other resources

- The Admission Testing Service "preparing for STEP" page - this will be the official place the 2015 papers will be released and is the official site for STEP.

- Individual STEP papers can also be downloaded from The Maths Orchard or Mathshelper

- A spreadsheet cross-referencing the Siklos booklets to STEP questions

- University of Warwick videos of worked STEP solutions (follow the links from this page).

- Dr. Siklos' videos of worked STEP solutions (follow the links from this page)

- The STEP Correspondence course, which is designed for early STEP preparation. Assignments are on this page. They also have a forum which might be helpful.

- Meikleriggs website is an oldie but has worked to solutions to STEP papers (you might need to sign-up to the site).

- NRICH STEP preparation modules. (I'm not convinced that these are particularly helpful. However they were developed by Cambridge so I would be remiss not to include them on this list.)

- TSR hints and tricks

4. Solutions

If you're stuck on a problem, you're basically like every single person who has prepared for STEP. Do not look at solutions unless you've thought about a problem seriously (i.e. at least for more than one day), and have asked on this thread for help.

If you do need the solutions:

- The Megapack has all of the official solutions since 1996. Some of these are basically hints, which are better for you in the long run (because once you see a solution, the question is basically ruined for you).

- TSR has worked solutions to most papers (no idea why we don't have 2009 here - something for you to work on? :tongue:)
1987 · 1988 · 1989 · 1990 · 1991
1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996
1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001
2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006
2007 · 2008 · 2009 · 2010 · 2011
2012 · 2013 · 2014 · 2015
5. Marking and grade boundaries

All questions are marked out of 20. Best 6 answers contribute to your final score.

After a Freedom of Information request, Admissions Testing Service provided the 2014 solutions (with mark schemes). I am releasing these in the public interest to help students prepare for STEP.

Individual links straight to the files are below:

STEP I 2014 mark scheme
STEP II 2014 mark scheme
STEP III 2014 mark scheme

Note that the general guidance given regarding marking remains unchanged - see this link for details.

Grade boundaries are shown in the picture below



6. FAQ

When should I start?
Whenever you want. January 2016 should be sufficient time for a good Cambridge offer holder to get a 1,1 if they work hard. Using that as a benchmark might be helpful (be honest with yourself about how good you are!)

I need inspiration before the exam...
This post seems very popular. I think it's useful well before the exam though. In particular, the stuff about knowing what A⇒BA \Rightarrow B means, what "if and only if" means, and the fact that x2=∣x∣\sqrt {x^2} = |x| comes up again and again in STEP.

Can I get by with just the pure?
Maybe. But the applied is often straightforward and if you ignore it, you'll be in for a shock at uni because your first year may be up to 50% applied. Things that tend to be relatively simple:

- Mechanics: collisions, projectiles
- Statistics: definitions of a pdf/cdf, expectations, counting arguments for probability.

What should I leave as mocks?
Make sure that during your prep you cover the most recent papers as this is the best indication of the current difficulty of STEP. I do not recommend that you have to leave all of the most recent papers as mocks. You should

See this post for a very detailed FAQ - no need to read it all!

7. After the exam

This advice will be updated if the 2016 process if different to 2015.

- Do not register for results until 5 days before the exam. This is due to a quirk in the results page, which has caused issues in the past.

- Some browsers, particularly Chrome, don't work well with the results page. The best browsers seem to be IE and Firefox.

If you are a Cambridge offer holder and have missed your offer:
- Check UCAS Track: your original college may have accepted you anyway. Congrats!
- If not, you may be in the summer pool. Call up your college and provide your A-level UMS - assuming this is good it may help your case. You should keep your emails / phone with you as you may be get told that another college has accepted you. Note that the pool has access to your actual STEP scripts, not just your marks, so they will be looking in detail for who to accept.
- Your best place for advice will be the TSR Summer pool thread, where experienced people will hopefully be on hand to deal with your situation.

No matter what happens, you have become a better mathematician for attempting STEP and if you're good enough to try it, you should have no problems being a success in whatever you do, wherever you end up!
Above all, best of luck :smile:
(edited 7 years ago)

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
excellent but shouldn't this thread be in Maths Exams?
Original post by TeeEm
excellent but shouldn't this thread be in Maths Exams?


I had originally put it there but the thread got moved :s-smilie:
Reply 3
Original post by jjsnyder
I had originally put it there but the thread got moved :s-smilie:


that must be the TSR STEP mafia
Mod can you move this to the 'Maths Exams' forum please?

Original post by usycool1
:wink2:


I sat STEP in 2014, but happy to help anyone looking to use this thread over the summer! :biggrin:
Original post by newblood
Mod can you move this to the 'Maths Exams' forum please?



I sat STEP in 2014, but happy to help anyone looking to use this thread over the summer! :biggrin:


Yup :smile:
Reply 6
I imagine I will use this thread a lot over the next year... I've promised myself a step armistice until results day though.

Incidentally, if anyone's thinking of doing step 1 a year early, I'd say go for it having been in your position last year. It's tough, but very rewarding. However, you should be in a position to finish at very least C1-4 by March, and either/both of M1-2 or S1-2 is strongly recommended.

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 7
Original post by Krollo
I imagine I will use this thread a lot over the next year... I've promised myself a step armistice until results day though.

Incidentally, if anyone's thinking of doing step 1 a year early, I'd say go for it having been in your position last year. It's tough, but very rewarding. However, you should be in a position to finish at very least C1-4 by March, and either/both of M1-2 or S1-2 is strongly recommended.

Posted from TSR Mobile


I'm thinking about doing it early. Did you or do you know anyone who did it a year early? I've finished Maths A Level so I'm pretty sure I have the knowledge though I probably have to brush up a bit :beard:. Might even be able to do both M2, S2 by the end of next year as well for applied questions
Reply 8
Original post by rcmehta
I'm thinking about doing it early. Did you or do you know anyone who did it a year early? I've finished Maths A Level so I'm pretty sure I have the knowledge though I probably have to brush up a bit :beard:. Might even be able to do both M2, S2 by the end of next year as well for applied questions


I did, and I know there were at least five of us on the thread last year who will no doubt turn up in due course.

From the sound of things, you're well set. Definitely try and do both M2 and S2 if you have the time. Sometimes a decent applied section fan make up for a dodgy pure section (2014 comes to mind). Though to be fair the applied can sometimes be a bit miserable, like this year :rolleyes:

If you haven't already, try having a look at some past papers - in my limited experience I think 1998 is about right to start with (though bear in mind the syllabus was a bit different). Unless you're superhuman you will find it quite tough. Don't worry. You have a whole year to get better. I'm not sure if this happens for everyone, but I had a very discernible breakthrough in step somewhere around February. Beforehand, I was scrabbling around on papers for even one question I could do, and what I did manage normally took me hours. After - and we're talking a space of about a week - it all suddenly clicked.

If you need any more help or advice, feel free to ask me. :ahee:

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 9
Original post by Krollo
I did, and I know there were at least five of us on the thread last year who will no doubt turn up in due course.

From the sound of things, you're well set. Definitely try and do both M2 and S2 if you have the time. Sometimes a decent applied section fan make up for a dodgy pure section (2014 comes to mind). Though to be fair the applied can sometimes be a bit miserable, like this year :rolleyes:

If you haven't already, try having a look at some past papers - in my limited experience I think 1998 is about right to start with (though bear in mind the syllabus was a bit different). Unless you're superhuman you will find it quite tough. Don't worry. You have a whole year to get better. I'm not sure if this happens for everyone, but I had a very discernible breakthrough in step somewhere around February. Beforehand, I was scrabbling around on papers for even one question I could do, and what I did manage normally took me hours. After - and we're talking a space of about a week - it all suddenly clicked.

If you need any more help or advice, feel free to ask me. :ahee:

Posted from TSR Mobile


Yeah I already started with some prep last year because I had very little to do in maths lessons... :cool:

Think I started with 1994 and just been trying to do 4 questions a paper and I seem to have got it on most. On 1998 I think until I stopped for a bit. Also randomly did 2002. Random further maths questions in the previous papers which I couldn't do other than the imaginary numbers.

I'm possibly thinking about doing II as well since I think I could build up to it and should have enough time. It'll probably feel like I how I felt when I started :confused:
Let's get this party started
Reply 11
Original post by rcmehta
Yeah I already started with some prep last year because I had very little to do in maths lessons... :cool:

Think I started with 1994 and just been trying to do 4 questions a paper and I seem to have got it on most. On 1998 I think until I stopped for a bit. Also randomly did 2002. Random further maths questions in the previous papers which I couldn't do other than the imaginary numbers.

I'm possibly thinking about doing II as well since I think I could build up to it and should have enough time. It'll probably feel like I how I felt when I started :confused:


Then you're miles better than I was last year! :awesome: Without trying to put a dampener on things, the last few papers have got a bit harder, so it may be worth checking out, say, 2011.

Step 2 seems like a good idea if you can hack it, but it is a big step up (no pun intended). Again, it's been getting quite tough over the last few years.

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 12
Original post by Krollo
Then you're miles better than I was last year! :awesome: Without trying to put a dampener on things, the last few papers have got a bit harder, so it may be worth checking out, say, 2011.

Step 2 seems like a good idea if you can hack it, but it is a big step up (no pun intended). Again, it's been getting quite tough over the last few years.

Posted from TSR Mobile


Yeah I've heard. Not enough differential equation questions. Not sure if I want to use the later papers right now though our save it for later. Suppose it depends on how I find the next few papers. Probably need to start doing some applied when I do M2 or S2. Which do you think is better to do? Probably will do both eventually
Reply 13
Original post by rcmehta
Yeah I've heard. Not enough differential equation questions. Not sure if I want to use the later papers right now though our save it for later. Suppose it depends on how I find the next few papers. Probably need to start doing some applied when I do M2 or S2. Which do you think is better to do? Probably will do both eventually


I'd say M2 is more important. Content requiring M2 comes up almost all the time, and you'd be hard pressed to attempt the mechanics without it. On the other hand, there are only a couple of topics from S2 that come up with any regularity, and even then, a lot of the time S2 isn't necessary.

In my opinion the Mechanics questions on step tend to be a bit more standard than the stats questions. I wouldn't say that they're easier, but they're probably more approachable.

Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by rcmehta
Yeah I've heard. Not enough differential equation questions. Not sure if I want to use the later papers right now though our save it for later. Suppose it depends on how I find the next few papers. Probably need to start doing some applied when I do M2 or S2. Which do you think is better to do? Probably will do both eventually


Original post by Krollo
I'd say M2 is more important. Content requiring M2 comes up almost all the time, and you'd be hard pressed to attempt the mechanics without it. On the other hand, there are only a couple of topics from S2 that come up with any regularity, and even then, a lot of the time S2 isn't necessary.

In my opinion the Mechanics questions on step tend to be a bit more standard than the stats questions. I wouldn't say that they're easier, but they're probably more approachable.

Posted from TSR Mobile

I would definitely agree with this. From a lot of the statistics STEP questions that I have done, while S2 would definitely help, I would say that for a lot of questions it isn't necessary. If you are not going to do S2 though, familiarise yourself with the Poisson Distribution as that quite often comes up and looks daunting but the questions often turn out to be fairly simple.
Reply 15
Original post by jjsnyder
I would definitely agree with this. From a lot of the statistics STEP questions that I have done, while S2 would definitely help, I would say that for a lot of questions it isn't necessary. If you are not going to do S2 though, familiarise yourself with the Poisson Distribution as that quite often comes up and looks daunting but the questions often turn out to be fairly simple.


And probability distribution functions. If they come up they're often easy marks.

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 16
Subbing...finished A Level Maths in Yr11, now going into Yr12. Still unsure as to taking only STEP I or STEP I and II ear;y at the end of Yr12. Definitely taking I mind.
Original post by Gilo98
Subbing...finished A Level Maths in Yr11, now going into Yr12. Still unsure as to taking only STEP I or STEP I and II ear;y at the end of Yr12. Definitely taking I mind.


Have you done any STEP I practice papers at all? If so, how did you find them? Well done for completing your A-Level Maths so early! :biggrin:
Reply 18
Original post by jjsnyder
Have you done any STEP I practice papers at all? If so, how did you find them? Well done for completing your A-Level Maths so early! :biggrin:


Thanks :h:
Not yet - I don't plan on getting stuck into STEP until I start college but have been doing a bit of AEA and MAT. AEA I found very easy but MAT not so much...
Original post by Gilo98
Thanks :h:
Not yet - I don't plan on getting stuck into STEP until I start college but have been doing a bit of AEA and MAT. AEA I found very easy but MAT not so much...


Okay. Well I would recommend you to try out the first few questions of Siklos's booklet just so that you can compare the difference between STEP and MAT/AEA in both style and difficulty. This will help give you an indication as to if you are confident enough for doing STEP II :smile: (They are actually really fun questions as well!).

Latest