Lebanese Brevet - Certificat d'Études Moyennes (الشهادة المتوسطة) exam-day guide
Lebanese Brevet - Certificat d'Études Moyennes (الشهادة المتوسطة) · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Original photo ID
Carry the identity document the ministry requires - typically the national ID card (بطاقة الهوية) or an official civil-registry extract (إخراج قيد) with a photo. Bring the original, not a photocopy, and keep it visible on the desk throughout. Which document your exam centre accepts, and whether a school-issued candidate card is also needed: needs_review - confirm with your school before the last week.
Convocation / exam card and timetable
Printed copy of your exam convocation or candidate card showing your number, series (literary or scientific track), centre and the papers you sit. Also print the personal timetable: papers run over several days and the order differs by track. Whether a printed convocation is mandatory at your centre: needs_review - confirm with the provider.
Three blue ballpoint pens plus a spare refill
Cheap, reliable stick pens you have already tested. Two is the minimum; three removes any risk from a pen dying mid-essay. If you normally write in black, check first - centres in Lebanon commonly expect blue ink on scripts, but the exact instruction varies by subject paper: needs_review - read the paper's header on the day.
Pencil, eraser and sharpener
Wooden HB pencils for diagrams, graphs, geometry constructions and rough work. Erasers must be clean and non-smudging; a small sharpener saves you if the point breaks. Pencil is normally acceptable only for drawings and constructions, with written answers in ink - check the instructions printed on each paper.
Geometry set and 30 cm ruler
Compass, protractor, two set squares and a rigid ruler for the mathematics paper and any graph work in science. Test the compass at home so the hinge is tight and the lead advances properly; a compass that slips costs real minutes in a timed construction question.
Non-programmable calculator
A basic scientific calculator with no graphing, no memory of text and no communication capability. Some sessions restrict calculator models or ban them from particular papers: needs_review - confirm the permitted model with your mathematics teacher or the provider. If in doubt, take the simplest calculator you own.
Plain analogue watch
Many centres have no visible clock or place you away from it, and phones are banned, so a simple wristwatch is your only reliable way to pace yourself across a two-to-three-hour paper. Smart watches and anything with a screen or connectivity must stay at home.
Water bottle and a snack for between papers
A clear, unlabelled bottle of water and something quiet and not messy - dried fruit, a cereal bar, a sandwich. Papers are spread over several days and you may wait a long time between sessions. Food is usually not allowed on the desk during the paper, so eat outside the hall.
Written centre address and a transport plan
Candidates are normally assigned to an examination centre that is not their own school. Write the centre's address and a contact number on paper, plan the route and the departure time, and keep money for the return trip. Do a practice run at the same hour of day if the centre is unfamiliar.
Phone left at home or with a trusted adult
Mobile phones, smart watches, earphones and any storage device are prohibited in the examination hall, and even possession switched off can put your paper at risk. If you need a phone for the journey, hand it to a parent or friend before you enter the centre gate.
Your own summary sheets, for outside the hall only
One or two double-sided pages of formulas, dates, key definitions and essay plans per subject - reviewed in the corridor before entry and then packed away. Nothing printed or handwritten may be taken to your desk; these sheets exist only for the last ten minutes of waiting.
Sleep, and a realistic study cut-off the night before
The single highest-return preparation in the final 24 hours is a full night's sleep. Set a firm hour to stop studying, pack the bag before you stop, and do not start a new topic you have never seen - it raises anxiety and rarely adds marks.
Plan the day
Confirm the administrative basics: your centre, your candidate number, the exact date and start time of every paper in your track, and which ID the centre accepts. Print the timetable and pin it somewhere visible. Then build a subject-by-subject revision plan that allocates time by coefficient and by your weakest topic, not by preference.
Switch from learning to consolidating. For each subject, write out from memory the structure of the paper, the formulas or dates you must not lose, and the two or three question types you are most likely to be asked. Compare with your notes and rewrite only the gaps. Do one timed section under real conditions - same pen, same calculator, no phone.
Light review only: read your summary sheet, skim marked mistakes from past practice, then stop. Pack the bag completely - ID, convocation, pens, pencil, geometry set, calculator, watch, water, snack, money - and leave it by the door. Set two alarms. Eat a normal meal and go to bed at your usual hour; do not trade sleep for a final chapter.
Eat breakfast even if you feel nervous - hungry candidates lose concentration in the second hour. Re-check the bag against the list, leave the phone behind or hand it over, and leave early enough to arrive with margin for traffic, checkpoints or a wrong turn. Late arrival rules are strict and are applied by the centre: needs_review - confirm the cut-off time with the provider.
Find the candidate lists and confirm your room and seat number, then stay outside until the doors open. Keep to your summary sheet, not to conversations about what you have not revised. Locate the toilets and the water point before you go in, and note where you will leave your bag.
Fill in every header field the paper requires: name, candidate number, subject, track and, where asked, the choice of question or option. Read the whole paper once before writing, note the mark allocation per question, and write a short time budget in the margin. Skipping a header field or an option box can invalidate part of your work.
Answer in the order that secures marks fastest: start with the questions you know cold, then return to the rest. Show method - in mathematics and sciences, a correct step sequence often earns partial credit even with an arithmetic slip. Keep an eye on the watch; if a question is eating more than its budgeted time, leave a gap, move on, and come back.
Check that every page carries your identifier, that question numbers match the answers, and that you have not left a whole section blank - an attempt usually scores more than an empty space. Finish the sentence you are on rather than starting a new idea. Hand the paper to the invigilator yourself and do not leave anything on the desk.
Do not review the paper you just sat and do not ask others what they wrote - the argument will not change a single mark. Eat, drink, walk a little, then look only at your summary sheet for the next paper. Keep away from discussion of the paper with candidates from other centres who may not have sat it yet.
Keep your candidate number and convocation: results and any second-session arrangement are published against that number, and some candidates need to follow up on the ministry's announcement. Confirm with your school how and when results are released and what the procedure is if you need to contest or complete a subject.
Rules to check
Bring and display the required original photo ID; without a valid document the centre may refuse entry or withhold your script. Which documents are accepted, and what happens if you have lost yours: confirm with the provider before exam week.
Mobile phones, smart watches, earphones and any device that stores or transmits information are forbidden in the hall. Keep them switched off and outside, and never take one to your desk - possession alone can put your paper at risk.
Write in the ink the paper specifies, normally a blue ballpoint, and use pencil only for diagrams and constructions unless the instructions say otherwise. Work in the wrong medium or on loose paper can be disregarded.
Cheating, talking, passing material or copying from another candidate is treated as an examination offence and can lead to cancellation of the paper and further consequences for the session. The exact sanction and appeal route are set by the ministry - confirm with the provider.
Do not leave the hall during the first part of a paper, and only with the invigilator's permission afterwards; papers are collected at the announced time whether or not you have finished. Time lost to an unauthorised exit is not given back.
Between papers you may leave the hall but should stay within the centre and away from candidates who have not yet sat that paper. Discussing content with them is treated as a serious offence.
Scoring is per paper out of 20, and progression is normally decided on an overall average, with the pass mark traditionally around 10/20. The precise rule - whether a minimum per subject applies, and how a failed subject or a second session is handled - should be confirmed with the provider.
If you believe a question is misprinted or a condition in the hall is unfair, report it immediately to the invigilator and ask for it to be recorded, rather than raising it after the session when nothing can be verified.