In the world of English language exams Cambridge and IELTS get the most attention. They are widely respected tests and they have been around for years. Every year, thousands of students from around the world use these exams to prove their level of English for work and education. There is another group of exams that, especially in the UK, are becoming more important for a wide variety of reasons. These are the Trinity exams and their SELTs (Secure English Language Tests). 

In this blog, Ingla, an approved Trinity preparation centre, is going to tell you about four of the most common Trinity tests: GESE 2, GESE 3, GESE 5, and ISE 1. If you’re interested in these exams and want to know what they are like, who needs to take them, and where to prepare, then keep reading!

Trinity GESE 2 (A1 level exam)

• Who needs this test?

The Trinity GESE 2 is used to get a Spouse/Partner Visa, a Parent of a Dependant Visa, or a Representative of an Overseas Business Visa in the UK.

• What do I need to do in this exam?

The Trinity GESE 2 is a 6-minute conversation with an examiner which tests your speaking and listening ability. The candidate should know how to use and understand basic tenses like Present Simple and Present Continuous, and complete simple functions like indicating position (in, on, next to) and talking about possessions. When you finish, you can receive 4 possible marks. “D”, you did not pass and Trinity will tell you what you need to improve. “C”, you passed. “B” or “A”, you passed and you did very well!

Trinity GESE 3 (A2 level exam)

• Who needs this test?

The Trinity GESE 3 exam is meant for people who need an extension of their Spouse/Partner Visa or their Parent of a Dependant Visa. This is required after a person with these visas has been in the UK for 2.5 years.

• What do I need to do in this exam?

The Trinity GESE 3 exam is a 7-minute conversation with an examiner which tests your speaking and listening skills. The candidate should know how to describe daily routines, give simple directions and talk about location, use and understand the present continuous tense and use the past tense of the verb “to be”. This is in addition to the grammar and functions in the GESE 2 exam. Just like that exam, a GESE 3 candidate can receive 1 of 4 possible marks from “A” to “D”. “A”, “B”, and “C” are all passing marks.

Trinity GESE 5 (B1 level exam)

• Who needs this test?

The Trinity GESE 5 is for people who are applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain (Settlement) in the UK, or who wish to become a British Citizen.

• What do I need to do in this exam?

This test is different than the other GESE exams. It is still a conversation between the candidate and examiner which tests the candidates speaking and listening skills, but there are some important differences. In the GESE 5 exam, you must prepare a form on a topic before you go to the exam. The topic is your choice, but it should be something that allows you to talk about the past, present and future and lets you show the best points of your English skills. Then you and the examiner will have a conversation on two subjects that the examiner chooses. This could be about festivals, transport, special occasions, entertainment, music or recent personal experiences. The whole exam should take no more than 10 minutes.

Trinity ISE I

• Who needs this test?

The Trinity ISE I is needed by people applying for a General Tier II Visa in the UK or, for the moment, by people who want to be private hire drivers (for Uber, for example). The TfL (Transport for London) requires this test.

• What do I need to do in this exam?

Of the four exams we’re telling you about today, this is the most complicated one. It tests all four of your language skills (Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening). The Trinity ISE I is done in 2 parts. There is a Reading & Writing section, which takes 2 hours to do. This part of the exam has 4 tasks. There’s a long reading, a task in which you have to compare 4 short articles, a section in which you have to read a text and write about it, and a long writing task. The Speaking & Listening section of the exam is also different than the GESE tests. In the Trinity ISE I you have to present a topic to the examiner, have a conversation with him/her, and then there’s a listening task in which you have to verbally answer the examiner’s questions about what you listen to.

Preparation

Ingla is an official Preparation Centre for Trinity Exams. This means that Trinity College has given us their stamp of approval as an English school with a good reputation and a great track record of helping students successfully pass both the GESE and ISE tests. Our Trinity exams classes are usually done 1-to-1 or in small groups (2-3 students) so you’ll get the personalised attention that you need.

To read more about Ingla’s Trinity ISE I preparation classes visit our website here or to learn about our GESE courses click here.

You can do it. We can help.