Accreditation UK is committed to following up complaints about accredited organisations.
Many of the accredited centres are members of English UK who are our partners in the Scheme. If your complaint is about a school or college that is a member we will pass your complaint to them for them to investigate.
If the complaint is about a school or college that is not a member of English UK we will follow up the complaint ourselves.
Most complaints are resolved amicably, however, we do have an independent ombudsman available to make judgements on more difficult cases.
How to make a complaint
It is a requirement of accreditation that centres have procedures to deal with complaints from students, parents/agents. Please use this process first. (We advise all students to read individual contracts and the centre’s terms and conditions thoroughly and to carefully follow all necessary visa procedures.)
There is no time limit to making a complaint; you can contact us before, during or after your study at an accredited centre.
If you have made your complaint to the centre and it has not been resolved, please send us by email:
- a written complaint from the student (or parent/ guardian in the case of a child). If it is not in English, it must have at least the main points translated into English.
- details of how the student/ parent/ agent (acting for the student) has already tried to resolve the problem with the centre directly. If so, we also require the response he or she has received.
Email your complaints to:
Please note that the British Council is unable to follow up complaints about non-accredited organisations, or complaints from non-students concerning accredited centres (except in cases where there is a clear threat to student welfare).