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IELTS preparation in Birmingham and online
IELTS is four papers, Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking, scored in bands from 1 to 9, and it is the English test UK universities name most often. A-Team Academy coaches all four papers at 2341 Coventry Road, Sheldon, Birmingham and live online, one-to-one at £40 an hour, with full mock tests under timed conditions. We are not an IELTS test centre: the official test is sat with an approved provider, and we make sure you arrive ready.
Mock tests under timed conditions
Every IELTS plan includes full mocks with the clock running: once-only listening audio, sixty minutes flat for reading, both writing tasks back to back, and a face-to-face speaking mock with a tutor playing examiner. Marked against the public band descriptors, so the number you get is the number that matters.
Included in every plan →
Chase the criteria, not the vibes
IELTS examiners do not give a general impression mark. Writing and Speaking are each scored on four named criteria, and once you know their names you revise differently. Listening and Reading convert raw marks to bands, so pacing and transfer accuracy are worth as much as vocabulary.
- Speaking coached by criterion: fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, pronunciation
- Writing Task 2 structures that hit task response head on
- Reading pacing drills: 20 minutes a passage, no overruns
- A personal error log, so the same mistake never costs twice
From first mock to booked test
IELTS questions, answered straight
Can I sit the official IELTS test with you?
No, we are not an IELTS test centre. The official test is run by British Council and IDP at their own centres, with dates most weeks in Birmingham, and IELTS for UKVI is sat only at approved SELT locations. We prepare you, tell you when your mock band says you are ready, and point you at the right booking.
What IELTS band do UK universities ask for?
Most UK universities ask for an overall band between 6.0 and 7.0, usually with no single paper below 5.5 or 6.0, and courses like medicine and law often want 7.0 or higher. Your offer letter is the only number that counts, so bring it to the diagnostic and we build the plan around it.
Do I need IELTS Academic or General Training?
IELTS Academic is for university study and professional registration; General Training is for work and migration routes. If your test is for a UK visa you may need the UKVI version of either, sat at an approved SELT centre, which is exactly the kind of thing we untangle before you spend a penny on the wrong booking.
Find your starting band this week
One diagnostic mock, marked to the real descriptors, and a plain answer on how far you are from the band your offer demands. In centre on Coventry Road or live online.
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