Please read this document carefully, together with the Information for Candidates booklet, when completing your application and also before attending the examination.

Before the exam:

1. You must supply a COPY of the photo page of a valid passport with your completed application form. If your passport is out of date(or will be on the day of the exam) it is not valid. Failure to do so will mean that we are unable to process your application. (Please do not send your actual passport to the Centre.) Other forms of identity such as Student Cards or Driving Licences are NOT acceptable under the regulations of the exam. If you are not able to supply a valid passport, you must contact the Centre well in advance. If for any reason you will not have your passport or ID document on the day of your exam you will not be permitted to sit the exam. If you are sending your documents for visa renewal or to your Embassy we will ask you to show the original to us before you send it away. If it has not come back before the date of the exam, you cannot attend. It is, therefore, advisable to apply after your visa renewal has been done and your passport returned Any discrepancy between information given on the application form and your identity document will result in your not being allowed to sit for the exam.

2. You must attach two identical passport-sized photographs of yourself to your application form. The use of out-dated photographs may make it difficult to identify you on the day of your test and will mean there will be a delay before Test Report Forms can be issued. Please note your photograph will appear on your Test Report Form and on the attendance register. Therefore you must send a recent photograph showing an accurate likeness of yourself. Application forms sent without photographs cannot be processed.

3. If you have special needs and require the Centre to make particular arrangements for these, please complete the special needs section of the application form and, if necessary, contact the Centre in advance. We will do all we can to assist you but may, in some cases, need written medical evidence to make provision for your needs.

Cancellation and Transfer

We understand that circumstances sometimes mean that registered candidates are not able to attend the examination on the date they have applied for. If you wish to transfer to an alternative date or cancel the exam more than five weeks before the exam, you will be charged a £15 fee, to cover the costs of administration. Candidates who transfer or cancel within a five-week period before their exam will be charged the entire fee of £95. If you do not attend on the day of the exam, you will also forfeit your entire fee of £95, unless your absence from the exam is for medical reasons. In this case, you will need to inform us immediately and we will issue with a form which must be submitted to us within five days. Your fee will then be refunded to you, or you may transfer to an alternative date free of charge.

Exam Room Rules

· You must have the original of your passport, available for inspection before beginning the exam and at any other time that these are required during the course of the exam.

· You must sit in the seat allocated to you throughout the exam.

· Only pencils, pens, erasers and sharpeners are allowed on the examination desk. Other possessions must be in the secure area provided by the centre..

· You must answer the written parts of the exam on the answer sheet provided. No other papers are allowed on the exam desk.

· No examination materials, neither question papers nor answer sheets, may be removed from the exam room. Candidates will be asked to write their candidate numbers on all examination materials given to them.

· Please ensure that mobile phones and alarms are switched off throughout the examination. You are liable to be disqualified if your phone rings during the exam.

· Having attended for any part of the examination you may not withdraw from the exam. If you do not complete or attend all parts of the exam you will not be able to get any results.

· You should not leave your seat in the examination room until you are told you may do so by the invigilator. If you believe you may need to leave the exam room during the exam due to medical reasons, please inform the Centre before you attend for the exam.

· Once each module of the exam has started you may not communicate with anyone else in the exam room apart from the invigilator. Please raise your hand and do not leave your seat if you need to talk to the invigilator.

· Only answers written on the official IELTS answer sheets will be marked. Answers written on the question papers are NOT seen by the examiners and cannot be taken into consideration.

· All answers on the Listening and Reading Answer Sheet must be written in pencil.

· You must follow the Invigilator’s instruction exactly and should stop writing when the Invigilator tells you to do so.

Please note that failure to comply with the rules and regulations for the exam will be reported to the British Council/UCLES and may result in disqualification.

After the exam:

1. Exam results are normally despatched, by first class post, thirteen days after sitting the exam. Occasionally papers are required for marking in Cambridge and in this case it will take longer to supply your results. You will be informed if this is the case on the day of your examination.

2. You are entitled to receive one personal copy of your Test Report Form and up to five copies of your Test Report can be sent to institutions you are applying to. Please complete Section 25 of the IELTS Application Form if you need us to do this. A charge of £5 will be made if any of the receiving institutions are overseas. Your Test Report Form is an important document valid for two years. Do not lose it as it will be difficult for you to obtain a replacement.

Enquiries on Results

Listening and Reading papers are marked in accordance with a strict marking grid and answers must match this exactly. All papers at the Centre are routinely double-marked. However, if you believe an error has been made in the marking of your exam a full appeal may be made, via the Centre, to the British Council and in this case all four modules of the exam will be checked by external examiners. The charge for this is £60, payable to Colchester English Study Centre, in advance. Appeals must be made within one month of receiving your test results. You will be informed in writing of the results of your appeal and the fee is refundable in the event that the appeal is upheld.

If you have any queries regarding your exam please contact the Centre, by e-mail at ielts@cesc.co.uk or telephone 01206 544422.