What’s the difference between IELTS writing 6.5 and 7.0?
At the beginning of 2016, the NMC introduced a new regulation which required all nurses from outside the UK to achieve a score of 7.0 or above (out of 9.0) in all four areas of the Academic IELTS exam – reading, listening, writing and speaking – in order to obtain a license to practise as nurses in the UK.
The purpose of this was to address concerns over patient safety in relation to the ability of overseas nurses to communicate effectively in English. The score needed for Writing was recently reduced to 6.5. SLC’s Programme Manager Beth explores the difference between 6.5 and 7.0 in this detailed report.
Are you recruiting from overseas and need IELTS or PTE Academic preparation for your candidates as part of the process?
SLC works with healthcare employers and international healthcare recruitment companies around the world to prepare doctors and nurses from around the world to achieve the IELTS or PTE Academic English test scores they need to register in English-speaking countries such as the US and UK.
Back to Menu ↩ The OET reading paper is widely considered the toughest section of the exam — but most candidates are not using the
Contact us Back to Menu ↩ Published on 9 March 2026, Protecting What Matters is the government’s most substantial statement on social cohesion in years.
Contact us Back to Menu ↩ For years, ESOL has been promised a national strategy. Now, for the first time in a generation, there is
Get your monthly updates and latest materials on Medical English
