Notice to candidates for planned increase in IELTS test fee

6 September 2004 – The British Council, which operates in China as the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy, is giving candidates notice that the candidate test fee for IELTS will increase from 13 September 2004. The price rise from RMB 1250 to RMB 1450 represents an increase of RMB 200, the first price increase for IELTS in 3 years. The price increase will be in effect to the IELTS test of 13 November 2004 and onwards. Candidates who register for any IELTS test prior to 13 September 2004 or register October test after 13 September will not be affected by the price rise. The price increase will reflect the rise in costs since the last price rise. There will be no changes to the actual test itself.

The price rise will cover increased costs of test development, production and delivery in the UK and China. This includes the rise in the exchange rate of Pound Sterling to RMB of 12% over the last year, increase in inflation and an increase in the cost of travel by test administration and assessment staff to test centres in China.

“The cost for running IELTS test keeps increasing in recent years, but we still want to maintain our high-quality services. This is the first price increase for IELTS in 3 years. We are trying our outmost to provide the best customer experience for our IELTS candidates, so they can concentrate on scoring well in the test,” said Brendan McSharry, Director of Examinations Service for the British Council in China.

Those candidates wanting updated information on test dates or other IELTS information can check the following website: www.britishcouncil.org.cn

For further information, please contact Tracy Driscoll on 6590 6903 Ext. 248 or e-mail tracy.driscoll@britishcouncil.org.cn or Liu Jia on 6590 6903 ext. 323 or e-mail liu.jia@britishcouncil.org.cn 
 
  

    IELTS考试费用即将上调至1450元

2004年9月6日-英国文化协会(在华作为英国驻华使馆文化教育处开展工作)近日发出通知，从2004年9月13日起，报名参加11月13日及以后的IELTS考试的费用将从人民币1,250元上调至人民币1,450元。所有报名参加11月13日之前考试的考生不会受到影响。这是IELTS考试三年来第一次调整费用。此次费用上调主要因为IELTS考试成本的增加。IELTS考试本身没有任何变化。

此次上调的费用将用于支付IELTS考试在英国和中国的开发、制作以及实施过程中增加的成本。这其中也包括英镑兑人民币汇率12%的增长，通货膨胀率的增长以及考试管理和评估人员往返各考试中心的差旅费的增加。

英国文化协会中国地区考试主管Brendan Mcsharry表示：“近年来，由于各种外部原因，IELTS考试的成本不断增加，但我们希望保持IELTS考试高水准的服务，这也是IELTS考试三年以来第一次费用调整。我们将继续努力为参加IELTS考试的考生提供最好的考试服务，创造最佳的考试环境，以便他们能够集中精力取得最理想的成绩。”