COUNTRY-SPECIFIC SCHOOL LEAVING QUALIFICATIONS EQUIVALENT TO IELTS 6.5 WITH GUIDANCE ON COUNTRY-SPECIFIC ENGLISH LANGUAGE USAGE
The guidance below lists country-specific school leaving qualifications which can be used to demonstrate English language competence equivalent to IELTS
6.5/GCSE English Language grade C, subject to the agreed validity period, without specifying an English language condition in the offer. The supplementary
information about official languages is intended to inform Admissions Tutors about the general credibility of claims that alternative qualifications are
taught, or business is conducted, through the medium of English in the applicant’s home country when evidenced via references.
Country
Home Office
majority
English
speaking for
Tier 4 visas?
Antigua and
Barbuda
Yes
Australia
Yes
Austria
N/A - EU
Year 10 School Certificate, grades A-C
Matura/Reifeprufung, grade 2 (gud)
required
Bahamas
Yes
GCE O Level, grade C or above
Yes
No
GCE O-Level (Cambridge or Edexcel),
grade C or above
Yes
Bangladesh
Qualification Titles(s) and Required
Grades
Caribbean Examinations Council
Secondary Education Certificate A-C
(Credit standard)
References
credible as
evidence of
maintained
English?
Comments
Yes
English is the official language of instruction
Yes
English is the official language of instruction
Yes
English is the official language of instruction
Both Bangla (Bengali) and English are the
mediums of instruction although most state
secondary education is conducted in Bangla.
Private education is typically conducted in
English. Many textbooks used at the tertiary level
are English language publications.
Country
Home Office
majority
English
speaking for
Tier 4 visas?
Belgium
N/A - EU
Belize
Yes
Bermuda
No
Qualification Titles(s) and Required
Grades
Certificat d'Enseignement Secondaire
Superieur (NOT inferieur), 15 out of 20 or
7/8 out of 10
Caribbean Examinations Council
Secondary Education Certificate A-C
(Credit standard) / GCE O Level grade C or
above
BSSC (Bermuda Secondary School
Certificate), 2.0 or above or A-D Credit
Standard
No
Botswana General Certificate of
Secondary Education Examination
(BGCSE) grades A-C / Cambridge Overseas
School Certificate grades 1-6
Yes
Botswana
Country
Comments
Yes
Yes
English is the official language of instruction
Yes
The medium of instruction is English.
The medium of instruction at the lower primary
level is Setswana, with a change to English in late
primary school and secondary school. Work has
been initiated on the language of instruction and
other related problems at the lower primary
level. In order to improve the English language
competency, a few English programmes have
been piloted in a small number of selected
schools since 1997.
Country
Home Office
majority
English
speaking for
Tier 4 visas?
Brunei
No
Bulgaria
N/A - EU
Cameroon
Canada
No
Yes
Qualification Titles(s) and Required
Grades
Brunei-Cambridge GCE O-Level, grades 16 or A-C
Diploma za sredno obrazovanie, grade 5
required
Cameroon GCE O Level, Grade C or above
With the exception of Quebec, Grade 11
of the Secondary School Diploma, 60% or
above
References
credible as
evidence of
maintained
English?
Yes
Comments
In government schools there are two media of
instruction, English and Malay. For the first three
years of primary education the medium of
instruction is Malay for all subjects except English
language. From year four onwards, English is the
medium of instruction for science, mathematics
and technology and Malay for history, physical
education and Islamic knowledge.
Yes
Yes
French is the language of instruction in the eight
formerly French provinces and English in the
Anglophone south-west and north-west.
Yes
The education policy incorporates the linguistic
requirements of each province This includes the
creation of a Francophone and Anglophone
education system in New Brunswick, and the
incorporation of First Nations, Métis and
Aboriginal education into the Saskatchewan
curriculum. In each province or territory, there is
a provision for learning the minority language,
such as learning English in Québec and French in
Ontario. In some regions, such as Nunavut,
bilingual education is offered. Students learn an
Inuit language, as well as either English or French.
Country
Home Office
majority
English
speaking for
Tier 4 visas?
Dominica
Yes
Finland
N/A - EU
France
N/A - EU
Germany
N/A - EU
Qualification Titles(s) and Required
Grades
Caribbean Examinations Council
Secondary Education Certificate A-C
(Credit standard) / GCE O Level grade C or
above
Yes
Ylioppilastutkintotodistus/Studentexame
nsbetyg, grade 5 (magna cum laude
approbatur) required
Yes
Baccalauréat, minimum grade 14
required. Option Internationale du
Baccalauréat, minimum 12 required.
Baccalauréat Technologique not
accepted.
Yes
Abitur, min 11 out of 15 required (or min
1 out of 6)
Yes
No
SSSCE (Senior Secondary School
Certificate) WAEC or WASSCE (West
African Senior School Certificate (, grade
C or above
Ghana
References
credible as
evidence of
maintained
English?
Comments
Yes
The language of instruction at all levels is
officially English, although local languages
(including Akuapem, Ashanti Twi, Ewe, Fante Twi,
Ga, and Nzema) are used in the first few years of
primary school.
Country
Home Office
majority
English
speaking for
Tier 4 visas?
Guyana
Yes
No
Hong Kong
Qualification Titles(s) and Required
Grades
Caribbean Examinations Council
Secondary Education Certificate A-C
(Credit standard)
References
credible as
evidence of
maintained
English?
Yes
HKCEE Syllabus B (Hong Kong Certificate
of Education Examination), grade C/grade
3 or above
Yes
Higher Diploma HKDSE - grade 4 or above
Yes
The medium of instruction at all levels is English
With both Chinese and English in common use, the
government has been promoting the use of
Cantonese as the medium of instruction and
enhancing the language proficiency of students. The
government's aim is for students to be biliterate (i.e.
to master written Chinese and English) and trilingual
(i.e. speak fluent Cantonese, Putonghua and
English).
Yes
In most state schools, Hindi or the regional language
is used at the primary level. The medium of
instruction at secondary level generally remains the
same, though English is taught as a second language.
However, private schools and an increasing number
of aided schools use English as the medium of
instruction. At universities, English is most
commonly used for undergraduate courses, though
Hindi is usually used in the Hindi-speaking areas.
Most postgraduate and almost all professional
courses are also taught in English. The medium of
instruction used for teacher education varies,
depending on the state.
ISC (Indian School Certificate, offered by
CISCE - Council for Indian Schools
Certificate Examination), Standard XII,
60% or above
India
No
Comments
SSC or AISSC ( All india Senior School
Certificate, offered by CBSE - Central
Board of Secondary Education), Standard
X II, 60% or above
HSE (Higher Secondary Examination,
offered by West Bangal Council of Higher
Secondary Education, also know as West
begal Board), Standard XII, 60% or above
Country
Home Office
majority
English
speaking for
Tier 4 visas?
Ireland
N/A - EU
Qualification Titles(s) and Required
Grades
Irish leaving Certificate (Higher or
Honours), grade C3 or above [NOT Junior
Certificate]
References
credible as
evidence of
maintained
English?
Yes
Italy
N/A - EU
Jamaica
Yes
L'esame di stato, 90% required
Yes
Caribbean Examinations Council
Secondary Education Certificate A-C
(Credit standard) / GCE O Level grade C or
above
Yes
No
KCSE (Kenya Certificate of Secondary
Education), grade C or above
Kenya
Comments
Yes
English is used as the medium of instruction.
The language of instruction is generally English,
although at primary level, pupils also learn in their
own mother tongue.
Country
Home Office
majority
English
speaking for
Tier 4 visas?
Luxembourg
N/A - EU
Malawi
Malaysia
Malta
Mauritius
Netherlands
New Zealand
No
no
Qualification Titles(s) and Required
Grades
Luxembourg-Diplome de Fin d'Etudes
Secondaire, 45 (bien)
MSCE (Malawi School Certificate of
Education), grades 1-6 [NOT Malawi
Junior Certificate - JCE]
SPM/ Certificate of Education (Sijil
Pelajaran Malaysia), grades 1-6
GCE O Level English language (1119),
grade C or above [NOT UEC - Unified
Examination Certificate]
References
credible as
evidence of
maintained
English?
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
SEC (Secondary Education Certificate
Examinations), grades 1-7
Cambridge Overseas School Certificate
grades 1-6 / GCE O Level grade C or
above
Yes
N/A - EU
VWO, grade 8 (Goed)
Yes
Yes
NCEA (National Certificate of Educational
Achievement) Level 3, grade ‘Achieved’
or A.
N/A - EU
No
Comments
The medium of instruction is Chichewa and English at
primary school and English at all secondary and
tertiary education institutions.
Since 1967, Malaysian language (Malay) has been the
official language, though English, Chinese and Tamil
are also used as the medium of instruction at school
and higher education.
Yes
Yes
The official medium of instruction is English, though
Creole or French is used at certain institutions.
English is the language of instruction at most New
Zealand education providers, but a small and growing
number of schools also provide teaching in Maori and
Pacific Island languages.
Country
Home Office
majority
English
speaking for
Tier 4 visas?
Nigeria
No
Qualification Titles(s) and Required
Grades
SSCE (Senior School Certificate Education)
WAEC or WASSCE (West African Senior
School Certificate Examination), grades AC or 1-6
Norway
N/A - EEA
Vitnemal, grade 4 required
References
credible as
evidence of
maintained
English?
Comments
Yes
The medium of instruction at all levels is English
Yes
The media of instruction are the two official languages
- Bokmål and Nynorsk.
The official language is Urdu, whilst regional languages
such as Baluchi, Punjabi, Pushtu and Sindi are also
spoken. English is widely used in business circles. Urdu
is generally used as the medium of instruction within
the education system, though some higher education
courses are taught in English (mostly science and
technical subjects).
Pakistan
No
GCE O-Level (Cambridge or Edexcel),
grade C or above
Yes
Scotland
N/A - UK
Scottish Highers, grade C or above
Yes
Singapore
No
Singapore/ Cambridge GCE Ordinary
level, grades A1-C6
Yes
Singapore has four official languages, and although
pupils learn at least two at school (English along with
their mother tongue), English has been adopted as the
main language and is used within the education
system and business world.
Country
South Africa
Home Office
majority
English
speaking for
Tier 4 visas?
Qualification Titles(s) and Required
Grades
References
credible as
evidence of
maintained
English?
No
Senior Certificate (with or without
Matriculation Endorsement), Standard
Grade, grades A-D
Yes
Comments
Any of the official languages may be used as the
language of teaching and learning in the first three
grades, but currently only English or Afrikaans are
used from Grade 4 onwards.
Yes
In higher education, the language of instruction varies
depending on the course, with Sinhala, Tamil and
English all being used. Medicine, engineering, science
and architecture courses tend to be taught in English.
Arts, law and management courses tend to be taught
in all three languages.
Sweden
N/A - EU
GCE O-Level (Cambridge or Edexcel),
grade C or above
Caribbean Examinations Council
Secondary Education Certificate A-C
(Credit standard) / GCE O Level grade C or
above
Caribbean Examinations Council
Secondary Education Certificate A-C
(Credit standard)
Caribbean Examinations Council
Secondary Education Certificate A-C
(Credit standard) / GCE O Level grade C or
above
Slutbetyg fran Gymnasieskola, grade VG
required
Switzerland
N/A - EEA
Maturita 5 gut/bien/bene
Sri Lanka
No
St Kitts and Nevis
Yes
St Lucia
Yes
St Vincent and the
Grenadines
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
English is used as the medium of instruction
Country
Home Office
majority
English
speaking for
Tier 4 visas?
Qualification Titles(s) and Required
Grades
References
credible as
evidence of
maintained
English?
Tanzania
No
CSE (Certificate of Secondary Education),
grade C or above
Yes
Uganda
No
UCE (Uganda certificate of Education,
grades 1-6
Yes
Yes
High School Graduation Diploma, Grade C
or above
Yes
United States of
America
Zambia
No
Zambia School Certificate, grades 1-6
Yes
Zimbabwe
No
CSE (Certificate of Secondary Education),
grade C or above
Yes
Comments
99% of people in Tanzania speak in the vernacular.
However, as Kiswahili (at primary level) and English (at
secondary and higher level) are the official languages
of instruction, most children learn these as second
and third languages respectively.
Two-thirds of the population speak Kiswahili language,
though English is the official language, is frequently
used and is the main language of instruction from year
four in schools.
Since 1965, English has been the official medium of
instruction. However, government policy allows
children in Grades 1 to 4 to be taught in the local
language.
The language of instruction from grades 1 to 3 is the
mother tongue. English, Shona or Ndebele are used as
the medium of instruction from grade 4 to the
completion of upper secondary education. English is
the language of instruction at tertiary level.