ESOL Exam Preparation

Many of our students are interested in studying for and taking an exam so that they leave school with an English language qualification. We offer preparation classes for internationally recognised examinations from The University of Cambridge.

There are three types of ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) examinations offered by The University of Cambridge. Students can take General English, Academic, or Professional exams.

Cambridge ESOL exams are aligned to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, published by the Council of Europe. This internationally recognised framework describes language ability in a scale of levels which ranges from A1 for beginners to C2 for those who have mastered a language.

General English

This suite of exams offers a lifetime qualification for students from levels A2 (Elementary) to C2 (Proficiency). We prepare students for the Preliminary English Test (PET), First Certificate in English (FCE), Certificate in Advanced English (CAE), and Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE).

Academic English

Educational institutions, along with employers and government immigration agencies, require proof of English language skills as part of their recruitment or admittance procedures. Increasingly, these organisations are using IELTS (International English Language Testing System).

IELTS is recommended for students at level B1 and above.

Professional English

The Bournemouth School of English offers students the chance to take the BULATS (Business Language Testing System) exam, which is used by businesses in over 30 countries for recruitment, training, benchmarking and staff development.

BULATS can be taken by any student with level A1 or above.

Can I take an exam?

If you are thinking of taking one of these exams, we suggest that you follow our links to the Cambridge ESOL web pages, where you can read more about each of the exams and find out how they might be useful for you.

After that, you should telephone or email us and tell us how long you would like to study for and what exam(s) you are interested in.

We will then be able to give you some personal advice that will help you to make your choice.