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English language requirements

 

All applicants are required to meet both the academic and English language requirements for the programme they are applying for.

All applicants, for both undergraduate and postgraduate study, must satisfy the College that they have a sufficient command of spoken and written English to meet the demands of the programme. We therefore require all applicants to obtain one of the options in the list below by the time of submitting their application to Oak Hill1:

Qualification

Level required

GCSE or GCE O Level English Language (or equivalent international qualification)2

Grade C or above, or 4-9 under the new GCSE grading structure

IELTS Academic Test

Overall score of 7.0 or above, with no less than 6.5 in each component

AS or A level English Language

Grade C

Cambridge English

C1 Advanced/Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) or C2 Proficiency/Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE): overall score of 185 or above, with at least 176 in each component

IGCSE English as a First Language

Grade C

International Baccalaureate

English A: Language & Literature – Grade 4 at Standard or Higher Level

Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic)

Overall score of 69 or above, with at least 65 in each component

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) internet-based test (IBT)

Overall score of 100 or above, with at least 22 in listening and 23 in speaking, writing and reading

Scottish National English 5

Grade C

Scottish Higher English or Advanced Higher English

Grade C


Exemption from the English Language Requirement

An applicant will be considered to have satisfied the English language requirement if they meet all of the following criteria:

  1. They have successfully completed a UK Bachelor’s degree or higher, or an equivalent qualification, taught and assessed in English in a majority English-speaking country3. Qualifications obtained by distance learning cannot be accepted for English language purposes.
  2. Applicants who studied at a university outside the UK should submit the following with their application:

    • An official letter from the university confirming that the degree was taught in English
    • An ENIC Statement of Comparability confirming the level of the qualification is equivalent to a UK Bachelor’s degree or higher. Read more details here
  3. If the degree was completed more than two years prior to applying to study at Oak Hill, the applicant must provide evidence at application stage of ongoing use of English. This could take the form of living in a majority English-speaking country or working in an occupation that requires regular use of English.
  4. Throughout the application process, from application form to interview, the applicant must demonstrate English proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing.

For IELTS, Cambridge English, PTE and TOEFL tests, an applicant should have been awarded the relevant test result within the two years prior to the start of the programme that they are applying for or we will not be able to accept it. Additionally, please note that an applicant cannot combine scores from more than one sitting of a test.

An applicant who has studied in a majority-English speaking country other than the UK should contact us for details of the level required in an equivalent international qualification. Majority English-speaking countries are defined by the British government as follows: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom and USA.

Majority English-speaking countries are defined by the British government as follows: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom and USA.