How online lessons with Mike work from Riyadh
Every lesson is one-to-one and live on Google Meet, taught in English by Mike himself. He holds the Cambridge CELTA, teaches from Hanoi, Vietnam, and scored 7.5 overall and 8.5 in Speaking in his own IELTS. Band Booster has no classroom, centre or group class in Riyadh, so you join from home. See about Mike.
You pick a slot on the booking calendar, which shows every time in your own time zone. The booking page shows your price in your own currency, and the payment options, before you pay. A paid 30-minute trial can be taken once, on your first booking, and you can reschedule at no charge up to 12 hours before a session. Booking steps and regional pricing are explained on the page for Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. No band is guaranteed: progress depends on your starting point and the work you do between sessions.
The time difference: Riyadh is 4 hours behind Hanoi
The IANA time zone database (release 2026e) puts Riyadh on UTC+3 and Vietnam, Hanoi included, on UTC+7, and neither has a daylight-saving rule. So the gap is the same all year: Hanoi is 4 hours ahead of Riyadh.
| Riyadh time | The same moment in Hanoi |
|---|---|
| 15:00 | 19:00 |
| 19:00 | 23:00 |
This is a conversion, not a list of open slots; no hours are promised, so check the booking calendar first.
Where IELTS can be taken in Riyadh
IELTS is offered at more than one test centre in Riyadh, through IDP and the British Council, and their lists differ. IDP's Saudi Arabia page lists five venues located in Riyadh, and ielts.org's finder showed 21 listings covering 11 centre names. Neither is a final count of Riyadh venues, so read the address, format and date on the provider's own booking page.
Read on ielts.org and the providers' Saudi Arabia pages in October 2026; it changes, so confirm with the provider before you book. This page quotes no fees or dates.
| Source | What it showed for Riyadh | What it did not show |
|---|---|---|
| IDP, Saudi Arabia test dates | Five venues located in Riyadh (one gives only a street and has Riyadh in its name) | Which venue offers which format |
| IDP, Riyadh test dates | Sessions at a Tahlia Street test room, labelled IELTS on computer, Writing on computer or on paper | Any session labelled as a fully paper-based test |
| British Council, Saudi Arabia dates, fees and locations | IELTS on computer at its test centres in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam; IELTS on paper listed for 11 cities including Riyadh | Names of individual Riyadh venues |
| ielts.org test centre finder, Saudi Arabia and Riyadh | 21 listings covering 11 centre names, including British Council and IDP centres; every listing tagged Computer or Computer (Writing on Paper) | Any listing tagged as a fully paper-based test |
Band Booster IELTS is a tutor, not a test centre. It is independent of IDP, the British Council and Cambridge University Press & Assessment, and it does not register you, set test fees or dates, or issue results. The lists do not match exactly: IDP names a Riyadh venue that the finder does not show.
- Read the address, not just the name. IDP's Saudi Arabia list has two venues with “IDP Riyadh” in the name whose addresses are in Tabuk and Unaizah, so they are not in Riyadh.
- Check who the venue is for. The finder marks one Riyadh centre as females only; IDP's Riyadh page labels its Tahlia Street test room as for men and women.
Computer or paper: confirm the format on the session you book
In a 5 March 2026 notice, ielts.org said that from mid-2026 IELTS would no longer be offered as a paper-based test, with timelines varying by market, and that Writing on Paper was being introduced in selected markets. In Riyadh, the finder tags two centres as Computer (Writing on Paper), and IDP's Riyadh sessions offer Writing on computer or on paper.
One point is not settled: the British Council's Saudi Arabia page still lists IELTS on paper for Riyadh. This page cannot say which format your date will use, so prepare for computer delivery and confirm the format when you book. For how the five Gulf countries compare, see computer-delivered IELTS in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.
Speaking stays a live interview with an examiner, but the pages differ on how it is held: ielts.org's Academic Speaking page describes a recorded, face-to-face interview, its Guide for Test Takers says face to face or via video call, the British Council's Saudi Arabia test-day and computer-delivered pages say face to face or by video call at your test centre (its Academic and General Training pages describe a face-to-face interview), and IDP's Saudi Arabia pages describe a face-to-face interview and, in the pages read, do not mention a video call. No page read says which centres use which, so ask your centre how yours is held. For computer tests, ielts.org says results are available 1 to 5 days after the test; treat that as a published range, not a promise.
IELTS for UKVI and One Skill Retake in Riyadh
IELTS for UKVI. The British Council's Saudi Arabia UKVI page says it offers IELTS for UKVI in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Al-Ahsa, no longer offers it on paper in Saudi Arabia, and that UKVI accepts only tests taken in person at an official IELTS for UKVI test centre. ielts.org's finder tags five Riyadh centres as UKVI Approved. Whether you need this version is for the organisation or visa route to say; this page gives no visa advice.
One Skill Retake. ielts.org says you can retake one of the four skills once per original test, within 60 days, after a full IELTS on computer at a centre that offers it, and advises checking that the organisation receiving your result accepts it. IDP marks it as available at all five Riyadh venues it lists, and the finder tags most Riyadh listings with it, but the British Council's Saudi pages list it for IELTS on computer without saying which Riyadh centres offer it. Check with your centre, and see One Skill Retake or a full retake for when it makes sense.
ielts.org's directory of who accepts IELTS, filtered to Riyadh, lists organisations in education, employment, government and professional registration. In October 2026 its result cards showed each organisation's type, name and location. Some individual entries also show minimum band scores, which ielts.org describes as indicative and says to confirm with the organisation directly. This page names no organisation and states no score; ask the one that will receive your result which test and score it accepts. See Academic and General Training.
What to practise before test day
ielts.org describes four sections and a total test time of 2 hours 45 minutes. Speaking and Listening are the same in Academic and General Training, while Reading and Writing differ.
| Section | What ielts.org says |
|---|---|
| Listening | About 30 minutes; four parts of 10 questions; each recording heard once only |
| Reading | 60 minutes |
| Writing | 60 minutes in two tasks; Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1 |
| Speaking | 11 to 14 minutes in three parts; a recorded examiner interview |
In a lesson, Speaking runs Parts 1, 2 and 3 in the real test format, and Writing Task 1 and Task 2 are marked against the public band descriptors, with feedback during the session. See IELTS Speaking coaching, IELTS Writing feedback, Listening and Reading. Those pages are written for Vietnam, so ignore their prices; your own price is on the booking page.
General teaching advice, not from ielts.org or the providers:
- Practise Writing the way you will sit it. Do both tasks in one 60-minute sitting, typed if you expect computer Writing and by hand for Writing on Paper.
- Practise Speaking aloud. Talk to a person, and also by video call, because the British Council's Saudi page says Speaking may be by video call.
Combining lessons with ielts.org's preparation materials
ielts.org's preparation resources page gathers sample tests and links to preparation pages from the British Council, IDP and Cambridge English. Its sample test questions page offers practice papers at no charge for Academic and General Training, and its Writing videos explain the scoring criteria. It also describes an IELTS Trial Test for Listening, Reading and Writing at participating locations, with results in 13 days; its scores are not official and cannot be used for academic, immigration or work purposes. Ask IDP or the British Council whether a Riyadh centre offers it. It is separate from the paid 30-minute trial lesson with Mike.
As general teaching advice, do an ielts.org sample paper under timed conditions, bring your Writing answer to a lesson for marking, and use the live session for Speaking; the Speaking Part 2 timer helps you time a long turn.
Price and booking from Riyadh
Saudi Arabia is in a higher regional price tier than Vietnam; the booking page shows your own price before you pay. Living in the UAE instead? See Dubai and the UAE.