Accreditation

We are accredited by the British Council and the British Accreditation Council (BAC), and we are a member of English UK.

The British Council

The stated purpose of the British Council is "to build mutually beneficial relationships between people in the UK [United Kingdom] and other countries and to increase appreciation of the UK’s creative ideas and achievements."

To these ends, the British Council operates an accreditation scheme for English language schools, in order to help foreign students identify top-quality language schools where they can study English in the UK. Accredited institutions must meet the British Council's strict evaulation criteria and maintain very high standards of teaching and school administration.

Like all institutions accredited by the British Council, we undergo a quick spot inspection once a year and a full inspection every four years.

British Accreditation Council

The British Accreditation Council (BAC) "has provided a comprehensive quality assurance scheme for independent further and higher education in the UK since 1984," says the organisation's website. "Our accreditation is recognised the world over by students, agents and government officials as the clearest mark of educational quality in the private sector."

All BAC-accredited institutions like CIE undergo interim visits, regular spot checks, and reinspections. We are also required to submit an annual return outlining our current state of affairs as well as plans for the future.

English UK

In 2004, two previous associations (ARELS and BASELT) merged to form English UK.

"We have over 350 member centres in private schools, educational trusts and charities, further education colleges and universities.... All our members are accredited by the British Council under the Accreditation UK Scheme, which we run in partnership with the British Council."

"Our key roles are to promote quality and to represent our members´ interests. For students, enrolling at an English UK centre is the best way to ensure that you have a good experience in the UK and get the most you can out of your English language course."

Highly Trusted Sponsor Scheme

Under Tier 4 of the points-based system, all sponsors receive an 'A' or 'B' rating. The new Highly Trusted sponsor category is a further segmentation of this sponsor rating system. It is designed to identify those sponsors who have the highest levels of compliance with their sponsor obligations, and whose students are showing the greatest compliance with the terms of their visa or permission to stay. Highly Trusted sponsors will be expected to meet the published criteria in full throughout the period when they hold a Highly Trusted sponsor licence. In return they will be given a number of additional freedoms and benefits for the duration of their registration, and will be offered new services.