Language Program - Cambridge Exam Preparation Intensive - Elementary University of Cape Town English Language Centre

Success in a Cambridge English Qualification can afford you better job opportunities and access to many universities. Each Cambridge English Qualification is based on a level of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).

The two Cambridge Exam Preparation courses at ELC are aimed at preparing students for the Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) and Cambridge B2 First. The courses will give you a deep insight into each exam’s scoring criteria and structure. You will gain an understanding of the test questions you can expect to encounter, with plenty of practice tests, so you feel confident on exam day. You will also learn crucial time management strategies while honing your skills in the four core skills that will be tested in the exam – speaking, reading, writing, and listening.

UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, a high school for boys. It began developing into a fully fledged university during the period 1880 to 1900, thanks to increased funding due to the discovery of gold and diamonds in the north and the resulting demand for skills in mining. During these years, UCT built its first science laboratories, and started the departments of mineralogy and geology to meet the need for skilled personnel in the country’s emerging diamond and gold-mining industries.

UCT was formally established as a university in 1918. The new university attracted substantial support from well-wishers in the Cape Town area and, for the first time, a significant state grant. In 1928, the university moved most of its facilities to a new site at Groote Schuur on the slopes of Devil’s Peak. It was here, on land bequeathed to the nation by Cecil John Rhodes as the site for a national university, that UCT celebrated its centenary the following year.

Between the 1960s and 1990s UCT was known for its its sustained opposition to apartheid, particularly in higher education. From the 1980s to the early 1990s, the number of black students admitted to the university rose by 35 percent. By 2004, nearly half of UCT’s 20 000 students were black and just under half of the student body was female. Today we have one of the most diverse campuses in South Africa.