Why CHF 30 at Registration Could Save Your Students a Full Exam Fee
Exam day does not always go to plan. A sudden illness, a missed train, an unexpected personal emergency — for any student who has prepared months for a Cambridge English qualification, an unavoidable absence on the day is not just disappointing. Without the right preparation, it is also expensive.
This is exactly what the Swiss Exams Exam Retake Option (ERO) is designed to prevent.
What the ERO is
The Exam Retake Option is a Swiss Exams service available at the point of registration. For just CHF 30 added when booking, students sitting Cambridge English exams with Swiss Exams gain the right to retake their exam at no additional cost — at any Swiss Exams location across Switzerland — within a 12-month window, should an unforeseen circumstance prevent them from sitting on the original date.
The CHF 30 fee is the only cost. If the retake is triggered, the substitute exam registration is fully covered. For Cambridge English exams where registration fees can run into the hundreds of francs, the ERO is one of the most straightforward pieces of financial protection a school can offer its students.
How it works
The process is simple. If a qualifying incident occurs, the student submits proof to Swiss Exams within 5 days — by email or directly through their Swiss Exams Access account.
Swiss Exams reviews the submission and issues an ERO code, which the student uses at the payment step when registering for their substitute exam. One step. No additional cost.
For schools managing multiple registrations
The ERO can be selected directly within the Block Registration template in Swiss Exams Access — either for individual students or across a full cohort in a single upload. It takes seconds to add at the registration stage and can save a student the full cost of re-registration if circumstances require it.
With Cambridge English exam fees representing a meaningful investment for students and families, the ERO is one of the simplest, most cost-effective options a school can offer — and one of the most overlooked.
Note: The ERO is also available for Linguaskill registrations through Swiss Exams. This article focuses on Cambridge English exams; a dedicated Linguaskill ERO guide is available on the Swiss Exams website.
Get step-by-step instructions, including FAQs on the Swiss Exams Exam Retake Option: → swiss-exams.ch — Save money: Benefit from our Exam Retake Option