Academic English Students Achieve Outstanding IELTS Results
16th January 26
On Saturday 6 December, 45 Year 12, 13 and 14 students from the Academic English Department sat their first official external examination of the academic year: the IELTS exam, the English language qualification required for university entry. With students representing a wide range of English proficiency levels, this marked an important milestone in their academic journey.
As the exam format had recently transitioned from paper-based to computer-delivered, many students understandably approached the day with some apprehension. However, these concerns quickly proved to be unfounded.
Throughout the first term, our students demonstrated an outstanding work ethic and remarkable resilience, and their efforts have been thoroughly rewarded. Once again, the IELTS results have exceeded expectations, with 67% of candidates achieving an impressive band score of 6.0 or above, well before the end of the academic year. Several students surpassed the scores typically required by universities, attaining exceptional results of bands 7.5, 8.0 and even 9.0—the latter equivalent to native-speaker level.
Unsurprisingly, there has been a sea of delighted faces across the Academic English Department, including among the teaching staff. Many of our Year 13 and 14 students have already met their university entry requirements, while those who narrowly missed their target will have a second opportunity to sit the IELTS exam in May 2026, here at DLD, a British Council-approved IELTS exam centre since 2018.
Christalla Mavroudis-Head of Academic English
