On January 28, the British Council announced the launch of the British Council IELTS (International English Language Testing System) Awards for 2015. To mark the milestone of the IELTS 25th anniversary, this year’s awards is being extended to offer ten awards to Indian students to help fund their cost of studies abroad.
The British Council IELTS Awards will give a total of INR 3.9 million in educational awards to students from across South Asia – including for the first time, students in Bhutan and Nepal.

“The British Council IELTS Awards aim to help Indian students pursue the opportunity of a higher education abroad, once they have taken the initial step of proving their English language ability with IELTS,” said Sarah Deverall, director Examinations India & Customer Service South Asia, British Council. “As part of the 25th anniversary celebrations for IELTS, we have increased the number of awards for Indian students from eight to ten, while for the wider SAARC region, we are now extending the awards to Nepal and Bhutan, where IELTS is also a key part of their journey to international study opportunities.”

Over the past five years, 40 students from across India have received the British Council IELTS Awards for a diverse range of courses around the world, including dramatic arts in the United Kingdom, law in the United States and engineering in Germany, among many others.

Comments Persis Mistry, a speech and drama teacher in Mumbai, won her British Council IELTS Award in 2012, and took up her place on the MA course in Applied Theatre at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama in London, UK, “The award allows candidates to compete in a creative and exciting way and judges each candidate on his / her actual performance in each task. I found this appealing and encouraging, and on winning the award was given a great confidence boost.”

She found that her studies have expended her own personal and professional horizons. “When you are studying abroad, different teaching and learning methodologies make you realise how many interesting ways there are to learn and understand a concept,” she added.

The British Council IELTS Award is an INR 300,000 award, which may be used for the tuition and fees of a degree programme anywhere outside the winner’s home country. The British Council will recognise 13 winners this year: 10 from India, two from Nepal and one from Bhutan.

The British Council IELTS Awards are open to students from India, Bhutan or Nepal who have recently taken the IELTS academic test. Applicants must have an accepted place at an educational institution abroad, and plan to enrol in the course during the 2015-2016 academic year. Applications will be accepted until 30 June 2015.

For more information on the British Council IELTS Awards, including programme eligibility and application details, as well as details on registering and preparing for the IELTS test, please visit the British Council IELTS website. http://www.britishcouncil.in/exam/ielts/awards

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities which aims to create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide. For more information, please visit www.britishcouncil.org

With over 2.2 million tests taken each year, IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is the world’s most popular English test. Recognised by over 9,000 educational, employment and immigration organisations, IELTS is the only test accepted for immigration purposes in countries that require one.