The British Council IELTS partnership programme is a scheme for organisations that register and prepare test takers for IELTS for UKVI or IELTS for UKVI Life Skills.
How to prepare your test takers for IELTS
The British Council has a range of free IELTS preparation material and advice; both to enable your test takers to do well on the test, and to improve the skills of your teachers.
IELTS preparation online by test type
Once your test takers know which IELTS test they need to take, it’s time to get ahead and start preparing.
Support your students’ future study ambitions with IELTS Academic preparation from the British Council.
Support your students’ work and migration ambitions with IELTS General Training preparation resources from the British Council.
Help your test takers prepare for IELTS for UKVI with official preparation materials from the British Council.
Top tips on how to prepare from our teachers
Preparing for IELTS takes time, commitment and consistency. Here are some top tips from our expert teachers that can be shared with your test takers to help them achieve the score they need.
Take an IELTS health check with a practice test
Take our free practice tests to check your current score range. Use this to help you make a study plan focused on improving your weak areas.
Plan your IELTS study journey
Break practice into daily or weekly goals for each skill or task type to help you plan your time wisely. Create a study plan to help you keep track.
Practise regularly
Build practice into your daily routine and schedule for times when you can focus. Create a distraction-free study space to help you stay on track.
Immerse yourself in English
Practise all English skills every day. Take every opportunity to listen to English TV and radio, read online articles and talk to English speakers.
Check your progress
Use practice tests to track your progress and adjust your study plan if needed. Create timed conditions to see if you need to improve time management.
Sign-up for IELTS Ready Premium
Book your IELTS test with the British Council and get free access to IELTS Ready Premium, your complete exam preparation toolkit (worth US$170).
Prepare for IELTS by resource type
We offer a range of preparation resources to suit different learning styles, including online lessons and self-study practice activities.
Improve test skills and strategies with the help of IELTS preparation courses.
Join our live streams on Facebook, led by IELTS teachers and prepare your test takers for test day.
Subscribe to our Take IELTS YouTube channel and explore our prep tutorials.
Suggest personalised 1-to-1 online tutoring sessions with EnglishScore Tutors.
Get your test takers ready with IELTS Ready
From free scored practice tests to expert-led classes and courses, our IELTS Ready preparation platform is designed to support your test takers throughout their IELTS preparation. No matter what score they are aiming for, IELTS Ready offers tools to build confidence and help them feel prepared for test day.
IELTS preparation: FAQs for test takers
You cannot pass or fail IELTS; you receive a band score between 0-9, based on your performance. However, preparation is recommended to improve your English skills, manage time effectively, and understand the test format and assessment criteria.
How much preparation you need to do depends on your current English level and the IELTS score you need. To find out your current score, we recommend that you take a scored practice test. For those close to their target score, you may need a few weeks to focus on familiarising yourself with the test so you are prepared for question types, test conditions and timing.
If you are over two bands from your target score, you may need to invest in further English learning and practice to improve your English skills.
Yes. When you book IELTS with the British Council, you get free access to IELTS Ready Premium, our online preparation platform including over 40 scored practice tests and other learning materials. We also offer free video tutorials and Facebook Social Live sessions.
Related pages
Our higher level partners are the individuals and institutions who excel in registering test takers on our behalf.
An overview of the higher level members of the partnership programmes we run worldwide