Wednesday 26 August 2015

 

Four Hong Kong students win British Council’s IELTS Prize to pursue their dreams of studying overseas 
Top five students in the East Asia region each receives £12,000 prize

Studying overseas has been a dream for many students in Hong Kong. With an aim to connect people with learning opportunities, the British Council launched the IELTS Prize in 2011 and, since then, it has supported a total of 123 students in the East Asia region in entering universities worldwide.  This year, 47 prize winners would be added to the list, including four local prize winners in Hong Kong.  Each of the local prize winners received a prize valued at HKD25,000. The British Council also awarded five students in the East Asia region with an amount of £12,000 each, who will be entering their dream universities overseas to pursue further education.

‘As an international English proficiency test, IELTS has grown its popularity with over 2.5 million of tests taken in 2014, and is now recognised by over 9,000 organisations, including universities, employers and immigration authorities worldwide.’ said Greg Selby, Director Examinations, Examinations Services, East Asia. ‘We are pleased that our wide international acceptance and the IELTS prize are helping more students in East Asia to pursue further study overseas.’

This year the British Council extended the IELTS prize to awarding five regional prizes to top prize winners in the East Asia region.  All of the regional prize winners will be pursuing further study in the UK.Hong Seok Leefrom Korea will attend London School of Economics and Political Science in the UK for a bachelor’s degree in Politics and International Relationswhile Vu Dihn Hung from Vietnam will study the Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Nottingham University. Prethika Nair from Singapore, Riza Purnama from Indonesia and Cassandra Tam from Malaysia will study master’s degree in University of Edinburgh, University College London and London School of Economics and Political Science respectively.

In addition to the regional competition, The British Council Hong Kong awarded four students at the local level. One of the local prize winners, Chung Ka Wing, who has been accepted by University College London for the Msc in Medical Physics and Bioengineering programme, has always wanted to assent her research interest lying on ameliorating the quality of life of cancer patients. She said, ‘it is honourable to be awarded the IELTS prize. When it comes to me, recognition provided by the prize is twofold. Firstly, it substantiates that my pertinacious effort given to English learning is efficacious.Secondly, my mission is to overcome the boundaries of this nascent technology and allow more suffers to experience its glamour. The prize motivates me to persevere on my research goal irrespective of my age, gender and shortcomings.’

Another IELTS scholar, Tinya Yu, who will attend the University of Oxford to study PhD in Education, shared her thoughts, ‘in addition to contributing to the costly tuition fees required for overseas studies, being selected as one of the recipients of the prize gives me recognition for my language proficiency, which adds to my credibility as a researcher focusing on language development among Hong Kong students. As the IELTS corresponds to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, my results can be provided as evidence of my ability to use English in countries where the language is used professionally and socially. A great variety of opportunities are available to me because of the IELTS and the prize that I have been awarded.’

As an IELTS official test centre, the British Council provides full support in preparing students in taking IELTS exams, including Road to IELTS, specially designed online practice materials for registered students, and the access to different preparation materials. Furthermore, test sessions are organised three times a month, which give students flexibility for the most suitable sessions. More details, please visit http://www.britishcouncil.hk/en/exam/ielts

Notes to Editor

About International English Language Testing System (IELTS)

IELTS is the International English Language Testing System, the world’s most popular English language proficiency test with 2.5 million tests taken in 2014. Over 9,000 organizations trust and accept IELTS as a secure, valid and reliable indicator of true to life ability to communicate in English for education, immigration and professional accreditation. IELTS is jointly owned by British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment.

About the test 

Candidates are tested in listening, reading, writing and speaking. All tests are scored on a banded system from 1 (the lowest) through to 9 (the highest possible band score).

IELTS offers a choice of two versions, to serve both academic and non-academic purposes. IELTS Academic module measures English language proficiency needed for an academic, higher learning environment. The tasks and texts are accessible to all test-takers, irrespective of their subject focus. IELTS General Training module measures English language proficiency in a practical, everyday context. The tasks and texts reflect both workplace and social situations. The General Training module is suitable for immigration purposes to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

About the British Council

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide.

We work in more than 100 countries and our 8,000 staff – including 2,000 teachers – work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year by teaching English, sharing the arts and delivering education and society programmes. In Hong Kong, we have been doing this since 1948, giving people opportunities to learn, share and connect worldwide. 

We are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter. A core publicly-funded grant provides 20 per cent of our turnover which last year was £864 million. The rest of our revenues are earned from services which customers around the world pay for, such as English classes and taking UK examinations, and also through education and development contracts and from partnerships with public and private organisations. All our work is in pursuit of our charitable purpose and supports prosperity and security for the UK and globally.

For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org. You can also keep in touch with the British Council through http://blog.britishcouncil.org/. To learn more about British Council in Hong Kong, please visit www.britishcouncil.hk and www.facebook.com/BritishCouncilHK