Home » University Preparation Courses » Who can apply? | LSI/IH Portsmouth

Who can apply? | LSI/IH Portsmouth

How do I know the LSI/IH Portsmouth Pre-Sessional Course is right for me?

Did you know?

✅ You can now take our Pre-Sessional Course online.

✅ This can be taken from the comfort of your home!

You can apply for our Pre-Sessional programmes if:

✅    You are over 18 years of age
✅    You have an offer from one of our partners:
The University of Portsmouth
ICP – International College Portsmouth (part of the Navitas group)
The University of Chichester
Kingston University
Bangor University
The University of South Wales
City of Glasgow College

✅   Your offer letter is for one of the following programmes:
Foundation Programme
International year one
Bachelor’s degree
Pre-Master’s programme
Master’s degree
Research degree

✅   English Qualifications we accept for our Pre-sessional course:
UKVI or Non-UKVI IELTS taken from an approved test center
Duolingo
Pearson English test
IELTS Indicator
TOEFL iBT
* Subject to change in accordance with UKVI guidence

Please contact us if you have a different English Qualification from the list above.

For a list of approved Secure English Language Tests and test centres, please click here
Before making an application, please read our Terms and Conditions carefully.

Visas requirements for the University Preparation Course

For Pre-Sessional courses, unless you are exempt, you will require a valid visa. To find out if you will need a visa for your course, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa
If required, you must apply for a visa at your local UK Embassy visa office in your home country. Student Visas will either be sponsored by LSI / IH Portsmouth or by your university.
Student visas sponsored by LSI / IH Portsmouth will cover your Pre-Sessional course only and you will need to return home at the end of the Pre-Sessional course in order to apply for a visa to cover your degree programme.
If you are on an 11, 7 or 4 week course and have an offer for the University of Portsmouth, you may apply for a Student Visa which is sponsored by the University of Portsmouth. This covers both your Pre- Sessional course and your degree programme. In this case, you do not need to return home to renew your visa at the end of your Pre-sessional course.

All students applying for a Student Visa will need a CAS Number (Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies Number). If you are applying for a visa which covers your Pre-Sessional and your degree programme, you will get this number from your university. If you are applying for a visa which covers the LSI / IH Pre-Sessional only, you will receive your CAS number from LSI / IH Portsmouth. In order to get a CAS number, you will need to send the following:

A copy of your passport
A copy of your current Secure English Language Test (SELT) certificate
A copy of your university offer letter
Proof of payment of the tuition fees for your course
The completed Immigration Questionnaire from the LSI / IH Portsmouth Admissions team

If you have any questions regarding visas, please contact us at [email protected].

So you want to learn English in the UK? Do you need English for beginners, or an advanced English course? Whatever you need to know, if you’re interested in English lessons we have the answers for you. We’ve been teaching since 1985, so whether you want an advanced English course in Portsmouth or English for beginners, we can help.

Find out what life is like on a General English course from one of our students:

Language Level Requirements

The levels required for each course are as follows:

Level required in offer letter	Course length	IELTS required to start the course
6.5 with nothing less than 6.0	20 weeks	4.5 with nothing less than 4.0
	16 weeks	5.0 with nothing less than 4.5
	11 weeks	5.5 with nothing less than 5.0
	7 weeks	6.0 with nothing less than 5.5
6.0 with nothing less than 5.5	20 weeks	4.0 with nothing less than 3.5
	16 weeks	4.5 with nothing less than 4.0
	11 weeks	5.0 with nothing less than 4.5
	7 weeks	5.5 with nothing less than 5.0
5.5 with nothing less than 5.5	20 weeks	4.0 with nothing less than 3.5
	16 weeks	4.0 with nothing less than 4.0
	11 weeks	4.5 with nothing less than 4.5
	7 weeks	5.0 with nothing less than 5.0
Unconditional	4 weeks	No further level requirement

In some exceptional circumstances, students with uneven profiles which do not meet standard entry requirements may be accepted. Admission under these circumstances is entirely at the discretion of LSI/IH Portsmouth.

Key Facts

22.5 hours (60 minutes) per week
Start any Monday (except bank holidays)
Minimum length 1 week
Maximum students per class 12 (average 8)
Minimum age 18 (average 23)
Minimum level A1
Available online and face-to-face
Free 1 year access to online learning platform Sensations English

Accommodation

While studying IELTS in Portsmouth, we can help to find the best accommodation for you! Whether you want to live with a local homestay family, in one of our self-catering residences, or choose to find your own accommodation.
Find out how we can help!

Social Programme

Studying English doesn’t happen in a classroom! with our full, varied and exciting social programme you can have fun, meet other people with the same interests, and practise your English in a social setting! Find out more about our after-school activities and weekend trip!

Get Social With US!