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IELTS

General IELTS preparation

A general IELTS course that lifts listening, reading, writing and speaking evenly. Open from band 3.0 upwards.

Not open yet. We will post the date here as soon as it is set.
Who it's for
University students, emigration applicants, working holiday
Goal
A certified score for study or for work
Age
17+
Level
CEFR A2 – C2 · band 3.0 and up

How the course is built

IELTS7 classes1:1 ×5 · Group ×24 – 16 weeks
1:1
Writing Task 1Writing Task 2SpeakingReadingListening
Group
BrainstormingIntegrated Foundational Skills

What each subject covers

Writing Task 1 (1:1)A 150-word piece describing a graph, table or diagram. You work out what to write first and what to leave out.
Writing Task 2 (1:1)An essay of at least 250 words. Repeated practice at building an argument and its evidence into paragraphs.
Speaking (1:1)Part 1·2·3 exactly as they come. Part 2's 2-minute talk in particular is practised against the clock.
Reading (1:1)40 questions in 60 minutes. An order of attack for each question type, and how to find the place in the passage where the answer sits.
Listening (1:1)All four sections, by question type. Fixing the places where you lose marks even when you knew the answer, such as spellings and numbers.
Brainstorming (group)Given an essay topic, getting your ideas out. More common than running out of time is being stuck with nothing to say.
Integrated Foundational Skills (group)The groundwork that comes before exam technique — sentence structure and vocabulary, firmed up across all four sections.

What the tests look like

IELTSInternational English Language Testing System

The four sections are scored separately. Listening, Reading and Writing are sat in one session; Speaking is taken on its own, face to face with an examiner. It is the test that universities and immigration authorities worldwide have accepted the longest and most widely.

SectionLength
ListeningAbout 30 minutes · 40 questionsYou listen to conversations and lectures and answer questions on them. A mix of accents comes up: British, Australian, American and others.
Reading60 minutes · 40 questionsThree long passages. Academic uses academic texts; General Training uses everyday and workplace documents.
Writing60 minutes · 2 tasksTask 1 is a description of a graph or chart (a letter in General); Task 2 is an essay of at least 250 words.
Speaking11–14 minutesA 1:1 face-to-face interview with an examiner, running through three parts: introducing yourself, a short talk on a topic, then follow-up questions that go deeper.
Things to know
Score
Bands of 0 – 9, in steps of 0.5. The average of the four section scores is the Overall band.
Rounding
If the average of the four sections ends in .25 it is rounded up to the next half band; if it ends in .75 it is rounded up to the next whole band. Half a band in a single section can be enough to lift the Overall score.
Two versions
Academic is for university study and professional registration; General Training is for migration, work and secondary-level courses. Which one you need is decided by the place you are applying to.
Marking
Marking is done by people. Speaking, too, is not a recording — it is a real exchange with an examiner.
How you sit it
In the Philippines the test is taken on computer. The paper-based test ended on 21 June 2026. Speaking is still sat face to face with an examiner.
Validity
Usually 2 years.

How marks are awarded

Writing and Speaking are each marked on four criteria, and the average of the four becomes the score for that section. Once you know which criterion is costing you marks, you know what to work on.

Writing
  • Task Achievement / Response — did you answer what was asked
  • Coherence & Cohesion — do the paragraphs and the links between them read naturally
  • Lexical Resource — is your vocabulary wide and accurate
  • Grammatical Range & Accuracy — are your sentence structures varied and correct
Speaking
  • Fluency & Coherence — can you keep going without stalling
  • Lexical Resource — do you have the words you need
  • Grammatical Range & Accuracy — are your sentences varied and correct
  • Pronunciation — can you be understood

What score do you need?

These are only the ranges commonly asked for. The actual requirement differs by institution, department, visa and occupation, and it changes from year to year. You must check the requirements of the place you are applying to for yourself.

GoalIELTSPTE
Language study abroad · working holidayNot requiredNot required
Undergraduate study6.0 – 6.550 – 58
Postgraduate study6.5 – 7.058 – 65
Work or skilled migration in an English-speaking country6.0 – 8.050 – 79
Nursing and healthcare registrationAround 7.0Around 65
IELTS ↔ PTE conversion
IELTS 5.0 ≈ PTE 36IELTS 5.5 ≈ PTE 42IELTS 6.0 ≈ PTE 50IELTS 6.5 ≈ PTE 58IELTS 7.0 ≈ PTE 65IELTS 7.5 ≈ PTE 73IELTS 8.0 ≈ PTE 79

These figures are approximate, based on the comparison table published by Pearson. Some institutions use conversion tables of their own.

Sitting IELTS

IELTS is booked through two organisations, British Council and IDP. There are test centres inside the Philippines, so many students sit the test during their course and take their results home with them.

Pre-course assessment
Before you enrol, a 30–35 minute online assessment establishes your current band. If you have an official score report from within the past year, that is used instead.
Mock test every 4 weeks
Sat in the real test format, with a section-by-section account of where marks were lost. On the guarantee course, the improvement shown here is one of the conditions.
Evening Twilight
The guarantee course adds supervised self-study from 19:00–21:00. Students are not left to work alone; a teacher is there with them.

The test fee and the test centres vary by booking organisation and by test type. Current fees are shown on the booking pages above.

Frequently asked

I do not know my current band. What do I do?

Before enrolling you sit a 30–35 minute online pre-assessment. An official test report from within the past year can be used instead.

Is my band too low to join?

We take students from 3.0. Below 3.5, though, we suggest building the basics on Infinity Intensive rather than an IELTS class and moving across at 4.0 — at that level the groundwork is needed before exam technique.

Academic or General Training — which one is it?

The place you are applying to decides. University study and professional registration are usually Academic; immigration and work are often General Training. If you are not sure, start by checking the requirements where you are applying.

Enrollment
The course list is still being decided.

This course has not opened yet. We will tell you the date and the places before anyone else.

Find your programme ↗
What tuition covers
  • Every class in the load you chose
  • Dormitory
  • Meals every day · halal and vegetarian available
  • Laundry service
  • A school trip every second week
  • Your own progress sheet