What ielts.org lists in the four cities
The ielts.org UK test-centre list showed 111 results for the whole United Kingdom when it was read on 31 October 2026. Nine of them fall in Birmingham, Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham, and every one carries "British Council" in its title. A venue can be listed more than once, for example once per format, so the table groups them by address.
| City | Address | Formats shown | UKVI flag on ielts.org |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | City Gate House, 25 Moat Lane, B5 5BD | Computer; Computer (Writing on Paper) | Not flagged |
| Birmingham | Fairgate House, 205 King's Road, B11 2AA (three listings) | Computer; One Skill Retake | Flagged |
| Coventry | Earlsdon Park, 53-55 Butts Road, CV1 3BH | Computer; One Skill Retake | Not flagged |
| Leicester | Abbey Park Campus, Painter Street, LE1 3WA (two listings) | Computer; One Skill Retake | One flagged, one not |
| Nottingham | 2 Pelham Court, Pelham Road, NG5 1AP | Computer | Flagged |
| Nottingham | 3 Castle Quay, Castle Boulevard, NG7 1FW | Computer; Computer (Writing on Paper) | Not flagged |
The individual venue pages can show less than the list. The King's Road page shows a UKVI Academic test on computer, and the Painter Street page shows the Academic test on computer. Each has a "Book A Test" button. Fees appear there too, so read them on the booking page rather than here.
What the Home Office list says
Anyone who needs a secure English language test for a UK visa or citizenship application should start from the GOV.UK page on secure English language tests. It names the IELTS SELT Consortium as an approved provider, with the tests called IELTS for UKVI and IELTS Life Skills, and it links a separate file of approved test centres. The file read for this page is dated 23 October 2026, and the page records an update on 26 October 2026.
- Birmingham: two IELTS SELT Consortium rows, one at Cole Bank Road, Hall Green, B28 8ES, and one at Fairgate House, 205 Kings Road, B11 2AA.
- Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham: no IELTS SELT Consortium row. In that file, the Coventry and Leicester rows belong to other approved providers, and Nottingham has no row at all.
The page also says more centres will be added as new approved provider services become available, so check it again close to your booking.
Where the two lists differ
- The Hall Green address is on the Home Office list, but it is not among the nine ielts.org entries for these cities.
- The Pelham Road venue in Nottingham is flagged on ielts.org, but the Home Office file has no IELTS SELT row for Nottingham.
- Leicester appears twice on ielts.org with different flags, and the Home Office file has no IELTS SELT row there.
For a visa or settlement application, the GOV.UK page is the official source; check it for the current rule. If the lists disagree, ask the British Council on the booking page before paying. Nothing here is personal advice.
A short checklist before you book
- Decide whether you need IELTS for UKVI or a standard IELTS. The organisation asking for your result says which it accepts, so check its own page.
- Find your address on both lists above.
- Open the venue's booking page and confirm the format, including whether writing is on paper or on computer.
- Read the ID and cancellation rules on the British Council pages before paying.
The Home Office file lists Wolverhampton centres only for another approved provider, not the IELTS SELT Consortium.
How lessons with Mike can help
Mike is a Cambridge CELTA-certified teacher based in Hanoi, with 12+ years teaching English and IELTS in Vietnam, Turkey and Iran. His own IELTS result is 8.5 in Speaking. Lessons are one-to-one, 60 minutes, live on Google Meet, in English. He marks Writing Task 1 and Task 2 against the public band descriptors and runs Speaking Parts 1 to 3 in the real format. You can book a lesson and the calendar shows each slot in your own time zone. Hanoi is 7 hours ahead of the UK in winter and 6 in summer. Band Booster does not run the test or set its dates.
