In a bid to meet their goals of expansion, Pearson has revealed that the PTE exam will be offered four additional test centres in England, as a Secure English Language Test (SELT) for UK Visas and Immigration reasons. Bringing the total number of test centres to 22, the four new test centres in Oxford, Newcastle, Luton and Leicester are set to launch in April this year.
The Senior Vice President of Pearsons English Assessment, Freya Thomas Monk, stated that the addition of the test centres will allow aspirants to choose from a wider range of test centres, while also aiding in the expansion of their test centre network. Adhering to the UK Government guidelines on COVID precautions, the VUE test centre network of Pearson will be administering the test.
Monk added that the four new centres were chosen to meet the demand of the customers and make the test more convenient for the applicants, further widening the opportunity to appear for an English Language Test in the UK for Visa purposes through PTE Home and PTE Academic.
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Pearson offers two types of SELTs, including PTE Academic that is used for work and study visas and usually consists of the four main skills required for such visas, i.e. writing, reading, listening and speaking. The second, PTE Home, is a SELT for those applying for family or settlement visas and usually consists of a speaking and listening test.
Currently, the PTE for UKVI is offered at 194 different locations across the globe, including 12 cities in India that offer PTE Academic for UKVI. Throughout Last year, Pearson was able to announce a number of new centres, i.e. 72 on July, 32 in September and 26 in December.
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Pearson PTE is among the few highly recognised English Proficiency Tests conducted across the globe alongside IELTS and TOEFL and is currently accepted by a number of universities in the UK and internationally. Those aspiring to study in the UK can look into attempting a PTE Academic to meet the English Proficiency Test requirements of the universities.