CPE error correction

Is up-bringing the same as education?

no, "up-bringing" is to do with how your family raised you, whereas "education" is to do with how and what you learnt in school and college.

Families are choosing to have less children. Is the sentence correct?

no, it should be "fewer"

My mum continuously/continually urges me to to study for my exams. Which one is correct?

"Continuously" is non-stop "Continually" is repeatedly (the correct option)

Children's security/safety is of upmost importance. Which word in this sentence is correct?

"Safety" is correct, in general, as it is referring to common situations, like being in a safe environment. We talk about "safety first". It is referring to not being "at harm's way". In the workplace, we talk about "health and safety". "Security" is mostly used to talk about places and systems, and the word is therefore generally accompanied by another noun; security system, security guard, security alarm. As the context suggests, it's related to protecting oneself from being attacked by others.

The police has/have looked into the incident and is/are going to carry out a full investigation. Singular or plural?

"The police" is plural, therefore only "have" and "are" For some years, "c" has been considered correct, but it is plural, even though other groups are in singular forms, like "the government is" It can be in singular form when we put another noun after it; "the police force is.." because it would become an adjective here. The policeman/police officer is (here we are talking about an individual, which can be expressed incorrectly as "the police" (referring to a person)

In words suffixes with "ize" or "ise" like "organise/organize" are both acceptable in the exam.

Yes, if your language is consistent with the same suffix and type of English. Generally speaking, with "z" it's US English and "s" UK English, yet the two spelling forms appear in the UK in different publications of articles and books.

How are you on "in" and "on"? I'm so glad that he acted on my behalf. Correct?

Yes, to check on "in/on" prepositions, have a look at this website for more practice: http://www.businessenglishresources.com/in-and-on-collocations-practice-exercise/

Do all of the following have the preposition "on" after them? concentrate -focus - insist - depend

yes

I was especially/specially careful when I cooked the meal as my guest has gluten intolerance. Are both words correct?

Only "especially" "especially" means "particularly", whereas "specially" means "with a particular purpose". "specially" is commonly followed by "built/designed/prepared/made"

The company found a new way of catching public attention. Is "catch" correct in this sentence?

Incorrect, because you attract/get the public's attention/to draw attention to the issue - to make something stand out You can catch the waiter's attention/his her eye if you want to pay (physical)

Let's see how you do on subjunctives! Decide if the following sentence is correct: She recommended that we used the online component, seeing it acts as extra support for our learning for the exam.

It's not correct because even when we are talking about an event in the past, we have the second verb in the base form. You can say: "She recommended we use" "She recommended that we use" "She recommended using" There are 12 other commonly used words we can use with this structure here, advise (that)... ask (that)... demand (that)... insist (that)... propose (that)... recommend (that)... request (that)... suggest (that)... urge (that)... It is crucial (that)... it is essential (that)... It is important (that)... http://www.businessenglishresources.com/subjunctive-exercises/

Are irregular plurals your forte? The different diagnosis for the children had variants, so no clear conclusions could be made. This sentence is incorrect.

The spelling is wrong. "Diagnosis" in plural is "diagnoses". For more information on irregular plurals: https://grammarist.com/grammar/irregular-plural-nouns/