Which towns have an IELTS venue?
The ielts.org test-centre finder for the United Kingdom shows venues in all seven towns below. Every listing for them carries British Council in its title. The Exeter venue appears under a title that mentions Plymouth, so look at the address, not the title.
| Town | Street address (as listed) | Formats shown | UKVI flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | 2 Queens Avenue, BS8 1SE | Computer; One Skill Retake | No |
| Bristol | Unit 9, Hide Market, Waterloo Road, BS2 0PL | Computer; One Skill Retake | No |
| Bristol | Unit 9, Hide Market, St Phillips, BS2 0BH | No format shown in the finder | Yes |
| Bath | Avon Street, BA1 1UP | Computer; One Skill Retake | No |
| Exeter | Brittany House, New North Road, EX4 4EP | Computer; One Skill Retake | No |
| Plymouth | 1-5 Manor Street, Plymouth | Computer; Computer (Writing on Paper) | No |
| Portsmouth | Technopole Centre, Kingston Crescent, North End, PO2 8FA | Computer; One Skill Retake | No |
| Portsmouth | Technopole Centre, Kingston Crescent, North End, PO2 8FA (second listing) | One Skill Retake; no other format shown | Yes |
| Southampton | 31 Eastgate Street, SO14 3HB | Computer; One Skill Retake | No |
| Bournemouth | 29-35 Wimborne Road, BH2 6NA | Computer; One Skill Retake | No |
Some addresses have more than one listing, and the formats can differ between listings at the same address. The finder changes, so check the live page and the booking page before you pay anyone. Check the provider's page for fees and dates.
Which venues are IELTS for UKVI?
IELTS for UKVI is a secure English language test for visa and immigration routes. ielts.org says UKVI accepts only tests taken in person at an official IELTS for UKVI test centre. The Home Office publishes the approved venues in its guidance on secure English language tests, updated on 26 October 2026. Its list of approved test centres from October 2026 has IELTS SELT Consortium entries in this region for Bristol (Hide Market, St Phillips) and Portsmouth (the Technopole Centre address ending PO2 8FA), and none for Bath, Exeter, Plymouth, Southampton or Bournemouth. The Bristol entry there has no postcode, so it is matched to the ielts.org listing by street. Both sources flag the same two towns.
- For a visa test, use a venue on the Home Office list, not just any town on the finder.
- The same list names venues for other approved tests; this page covers IELTS only.
- Check the named gov.uk page for the current rule for your route. This is general information, not personal advice.
Writing on Paper and One Skill Retake
In this region, only the Plymouth address shows Computer (Writing on Paper) in the finder, which means you handwrite the Writing test and do the other sections on computer. It is not shown at the others. One Skill Retake, which lets you retake a single skill, is shown for most listings here; the finder does not show it for the Plymouth address or for the Bristol listing at St Phillips. Formats and availability change, so confirm both on the booking page. For a fuller comparison see IELTS One Skill Retake in the UK.
Choosing a venue
- Decide whether you need IELTS for UKVI or a standard IELTS test. If a visa, regulator or university asks, check its own page first.
- If you need UKVI, pick Bristol or Portsmouth and match the address to the Home Office list.
- Look at the formats shown for the venue, especially if you want to handwrite Writing.
- Book with the provider. Check the provider's page for fees and dates.
For other regions, see London, Birmingham and the Midlands and Oxford, Cambridge and Brighton.
How lessons with Mike can help with this
Band Booster IELTS is a private tutoring service. It is not a test centre or the exam board, it does not register candidates or set exam fees, and a lesson is practice, not the test. 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. He teaches every session himself, live on Google Meet, in English.
He marks Writing Task 1 and Task 2 against the public band descriptors, runs Speaking Parts 1 to 3 in the real format with feedback in the moment, and leaves written progress notes in your account. Lessons cover Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. No band is promised; progress depends on your starting point and the work between sessions.
Hanoi is 7 hours ahead of the UK in winter and 6 hours ahead in summer, and the booking page shows each slot in your own time zone, with the price shown before you pay. A paid 30-minute trial can be taken once, on your first booking. Rescheduling is at no charge up to 12 hours before the slot. More on Mike: about Mike.
