Pre-sessional course in Academic English Skills

We are looking forward to welcoming you to our Pre Sessional Course in Academic English.

For the June intake your welcome and induction will take place during your first session on Monday 29th June 2026.

Classes will take place Monday to Friday from 9am to 12.30pm. The rooms for the sessions will be added here closer to the course start date so please check this page regularly for updates.

For the July intake your welcome and induction will take place during your first session on Monday 27th July 2026. 

The timetable for the July intake will be available shortly so please continue to check this page for updates closer to the course start date.

Registration

Once you have completed the application process you will receive further information from us regarding how to complete your registration and how to set up your computing account.

Registration generally opens several weeks before the course start date. You can only register once you have received an email titled: "Invitation to online registration". You will not be able to register earlier, so please check your emails regularly.

Please ensure that you action any emails as soon as you receive these - we recommend that you regularly check your junk folder as these emails may be directed there.

Without completing your registration and creating your computing account you will not be able to access our Virtual Learning Environment, Blackboard, which is essential to your participation in the course.

New students who require an in-person Right to Study check will be able to book an appointment to visit the Compliance Team in the Student Zone. Appointment bookings will be shared closer to the start of the registration period for your course.

There are no tasks you must complete before you arrive. However, you may find the suggestions below very helpful.

READING

Research and experience show that regular reading is one of the best ways to improve your general English and your academic English. Try to read English as often as possible. Longer texts are more useful than short web pages. Good places to start are full news articles from major newspapers or news magazines.

If you can, choose texts that are related to your future degree subject. You can start with easier materials, such as basic textbooks, if this helps you develop a reading habit. You will read a lot at university, so it is useful to begin now.

LISTENING

When you arrive in the UK, you will hear English all day. To prepare, you can start listening to English now, especially to voices and accents from the UK. The following websites are good places to begin:

BBC World Service

BBC Learning English 

British Council Learn English 

WRITING

As well as reading and listening, try to write in English regularly. You can write short diary entries or your thoughts about something you have read or heard. Writing a little but often will help you become more fluent. We will help you improve your academic writing during the course, but it is important to get used to writing in English first.

We recommend using a good English to English dictionary. The Cambridge English Dictionary is a useful option. It includes British and American English, pronunciation recordings, translations into several languages, and links to a thesaurus.

Any reading related to your degree subject is helpful at this stage. This can include blogs, websites, or textbooks. The important thing is to begin learning about your subject in English.

Although it is not necessary to read all the books below before the course begins, we do recommend that you at least familiarise yourself with the names of the authors and the titles of the works below:

• Cottrell, S. (2023) Critical Thinking Skills: Effective Analysis, Argument and Reflection. 4th edn. Bloomsbury.
• Cottrell, S. (2019) The Study Skills Handbook. 5th edn. Red Globe Press.
• Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2025) Cite Them Right: The Essential Referencing Guide. 13th edn. Bloomsbury.

It is useful to note that the University Bookshop offers 10% discount on most titles in print and have some price-beating book bundles. They also price match Amazon on core texts recommended in the module handbooks. The bookshop is owned by the university and works closely with Library and Learning Resources.