📚 British Council Stops Delivering Most University Admissions Tests from 2024: Only STEP and IMAT Remain | 2024 年起英国文化教育协会不再承办多数大学入学考试：仅保留 STEP 与 IMAT
From the 2024 admissions cycle onwards, the British Council has stepped back from acting as the delivery and invigilation partner for the great majority of UK university admissions tests in overseas markets. Where students once registered through a British Council office, sat a paper under British Council supervision, and collected results through the same channel, they now deal directly with commercial computer-based testing networks or with the universities themselves. Only two high-stakes assessments have kept the British Council in the room: STEP (the Sixth Term Examination Paper, used by Cambridge and a small number of other universities for mathematics) and IMAT (the International Medical Admissions Test, used for entry to Italian public medical schools).
从 2024 年招生周期起，英国文化教育协会（British Council）在海外市场不再承担绝大多数英国大学入学考试的交付与监考职能。过去，考生在英国文化教育协会办公室报名、在其监考下参加纸笔考试、再通过同一渠道领取成绩；如今，他们需要直接对接商业化的机考网络，或直接对接大学本身。只有两项高利害考试仍保留英国文化教育协会的参与：STEP（Sixth Term Examination Paper，剑桥等少数大学用于数学专业的加试）与 IMAT（International Medical Admissions Test，意大利公立医学院入学考试）。
This article explains what changed, why it changed, which tests moved where, and what candidates in Asia should do differently. It is written for students, parents and school counsellors who need a practical map rather than a headline.
本文将说明：究竟改变了什么、为什么会改变、各项考试迁移到了哪里，以及亚洲考生应当如何相应调整。文章面向学生、家长与升学指导老师，力求提供一张可操作的路线图，而不只是一条新闻标题。
1. What Actually Changed in 2024 | 2024 年到底变了什么
The change is best understood as a change of delivery, not a change of requirement. Universities still set admissions tests; they simply stopped routing them through the British Council’s overseas network. In practice, three things changed at once: the registration portal, the physical venue, and the mode of delivery.
这一变化本质上是”交付方式”的改变，而不是”考试要求”的改变。大学依然设置入学考试，只是不再通过英国文化教育协会的海外网络来落地。具体而言，有三件事同时发生了变化：报名入口、物理考点、以及考试形式。
- Registration portal: from British Council country websites to centralised platforms run by Pearson VUE, by the universities, or by the awarding body. | 报名入口：从各国家/地区的英国文化教育协会官网，转为 Pearson VUE、大学自身或考试机构的统一平台。
- Venue: from a small number of British Council offices to a much larger network of commercial test centres, often in more cities. | 考点：从数量有限的英国文化教育协会办公室，转为规模大得多的商业考试中心网络，覆盖城市通常更多。
- Mode: from paper-based, fixed-date sittings to computer-delivered tests with multiple windows or on-demand sessions. | 考试形式：从纸笔、固定日期的集中考试，转为主要以机考形式进行、可设多个考试窗口或按需约考。
The headline – “the British Council no longer runs most admissions tests” – is therefore accurate in substance but slightly misleading in tone. It does not mean the tests disappeared; it means the pipeline changed, and the pipeline is what students actually interact with.
因此，”英国文化教育协会不再承办多数入学考试”这一说法在实质上是准确的，但语气上略易引起误解。它并不意味着考试消失，而是意味着”流程管道”改变了——而考生真正打交道的，正是这条管道。
2. Why the British Council Scaled Back | 英国文化教育协会为何收缩
Three pressures converged. First, the awarding body that had long produced many of these tests, Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing, wound down its admissions testing operations after the 2023 cycle, which removed the producing partner that the British Council had historically worked alongside. Second, universities wanted faster marking, tighter security, and the ability to run tests in more locations; computer-based delivery through an established commercial network solved all three at once. Third, scale economics: a British Council office may host a few hundred candidates a year across a handful of cities, while a commercial network can absorb thousands across dozens.
三股压力叠加在一起。第一，长期命题与开发多项此类考试的机构——剑桥评估入学考试中心（Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing）——在 2023 年周期后逐步收缩其入学考试业务，使英国文化教育协会原本的协作方不复存在。第二，大学希望阅卷更快、安全更严、并能在更多地点开考；通过成熟的商业网络进行机考，可一次性解决这三个问题。第三，规模经济：一个英国文化教育协会办公室一年可能在少数几个城市接待几百名考生，而商业网络能在几十个城市容纳数千人。
There is also a geopolitical and commercial logic. Running high-stakes admissions tests overseas is operationally heavy: secure paper transport, strict identity verification, invigilator training, and result integrity guarantees. Commercial testing companies specialise in exactly this and can price it per seat. For a cultural relations organisation whose core mission is education exchange and English language teaching, the marginal value of continuing to invigilate physics and law admissions tests is low.
此外还有地缘与商业逻辑。在海外举办高利害入学考试，运营负担很重：试卷安全运输、严格身份核验、监考人员培训、成绩完整性保障。商业考试公司恰恰专精于此，并能按考位计价。对于一个核心使命是教育交流与英语教学的文化关系机构而言，继续监考物理和法律入学考试的边际价值并不高。
3. The Two Tests That Stayed | 留下来的两项考试
STEP and IMAT are the two survivors, and they survive for different reasons. STEP survives because it is unusually difficult to computerise in a fair way – it is a long, hand-written, proof-and-derivation mathematics paper where the working matters as much as the answer. IMAT survives because its delivery model is tied to a single national admissions system with a long-standing overseas centre arrangement.
STEP 与 IMAT 是两项”幸存者”，而它们幸存的原因各不相同。STEP 之所以保留，是因为它极难在保证公平的前提下机考化——它是一场耗时较长、需要手写推导与证明的数学考试，过程与答案同等重要。IMAT 之所以保留，是因为其交付模式与一个国家的统一招生系统绑定，并长期存在海外考点的安排。
| Test | 考试 | Primary use | 主要用途 | Format | 形式 | British Council role | 英国文化教育协会角色 |
| STEP 2 / STEP 3 | Cambridge mathematics offers | 剑桥数学类专业录取条件 | Paper-based, 3 hours, 12 questions, answer 6 | 纸笔，3 小时，12 题选做 6 题 | Retained as an approved centre in many countries | 在许多国家保留为授权考点 |
| IMAT | Italian public medical schools | 意大利公立医学院 | Multiple-choice, computer or paper depending on year | 选择题，视年份为机考或纸笔 | Retained as an overseas delivery partner in some regions | 在部分地区保留为海外交付合作方 |
Everything else – MAT, PAT, TSA, HAT, CAT, MLAT, ESAT, TMUA, LNAT, UCAT, and the now-retired BMAT, ENGAA and NSAA – has moved to other providers or been discontinued outright. Verify each one individually before you pay.
其余考试——MAT、PAT、TSA、HAT、CAT、MLAT、ESAT、TMUA、LNAT、UCAT，以及已停办的 BMAT、ENGAA、NSAA——均已转由其他机构交付或直接停办。付费报名之前，请逐项核实。
4. STEP in Detail | STEP 详解
STEP stands for Sixth Term Examination Paper. Step 1 was discontinued after 2020, leaving STEP 2 and STEP 3 as the live papers. Each is a three-hour written paper containing twelve questions, of which candidates answer six. The questions are pitched deliberately above A Level standard, drawing on material from further mathematics as well as the standard syllabus, and they reward clean structure, correct justification and the ability to spot a route through an unfamiliar problem.
STEP 全称 Sixth Term Examination Paper（第六学期考试试卷）。STEP 1 已于 2020 年后停办，目前有效的是 STEP 2 与 STEP 3。每份试卷考试时长 3 小时，含 12 道题，考生需选做 6 题。题目难度刻意高于 A Level 标准，既涉及进阶数学内容，也涉及标准大纲内容；评分看重的结构清晰、论证充分，以及在陌生题目中识别解题路径的能力。
STEP 成绩等级：S > 1 > 2 > 3 > U
Typical Cambridge mathematics offers ask for Grade 1 in both STEP 2 and STEP 3, or Grade 1 in one and Grade 2 in the other, depending on the college and the applicant’s profile. A small number of other institutions – including some for Computer Science with Mathematics, and certain Warwick and Imperial courses in past years – have also used STEP, so always check the current offer letter rather than relying on folklore.
剑桥数学类专业的典型录取条件要求 STEP 2 与 STEP 3 均达 1 等，或一份 1 等、另一份 2 等，具体视学院与申请人情况而定。少数其他院校——包括部分”计算机科学与数学”方向，以及历史上华威、帝国理工的个别课程——也曾使用 STEP。因此请务必以当年的录取条件为准，不要依赖传言。
Because STEP is still paper-based, it still needs a physically secure, supervised venue with trained invigilators who can handle a handwritten script that must be shipped for marking. That is precisely the capability the British Council retains, and it explains why STEP is the clearest survivor of the 2024 shake-up.
由于 STEP 仍为纸笔考试，它依然需要安全、有监督的实体考场，以及能处理手写答卷并寄送阅卷的受过培训的监考人员。这正是英国文化教育协会所保留的能力，也解释了为何 STEP 是 2024 年调整中最明确的”幸存者”。
5. IMAT in Detail | IMAT 详解
IMAT is the entrance examination for Italian public medical schools, taken by both Italian and international candidates. It is a multiple-choice test covering logical reasoning and general knowledge, biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics. The recent format has been around 60 questions in approximately 100 minutes, though the Italian authorities have adjusted both the blueprint and the delivery model repeatedly in recent years.
IMAT 是意大利公立医学院的入学考试，意大利本国与国际考生均需参加。它是选择题考试，覆盖逻辑推理与常识、生物、化学、物理与数学。近年格式大约为 60 题、100 分钟左右，但意大利主管部门近年多次调整考试大纲与交付方式。
Scoring has historically been penalty-based, which makes guessing a genuinely risky strategy:
其计分历来采用倒扣制，这使得”盲猜”成为真实存在风险的策略：
IMAT 得分 = 1.5 × 正确题数 − 0.4 × 错误题数 + 0 × 未答题数
The practical implication is important. With a penalty of 0.4 against a gain of 1.5, you need roughly a one-in-four chance of being right before a guess becomes break-even. Narrowing four options down to two is comfortably worth guessing; guessing blind is not.
其实际含义很重要。相对于答对得 1.5 分，答错扣 0.4 分，因此只有当你的正确概率大致超过四分之一时，猜测才是不亏的。把四个选项缩小到两个再猜，明显值得；完全盲猜则不值得。
IMAT is also the test most exposed to policy risk. Italian medical admissions have been under active reform debate, including proposals to move away from a single national test towards alternative selection routes. Candidates targeting Italian medicine must therefore treat any published IMAT information as valid only for the cycle it belongs to, and confirm arrangements with the Italian Ministry of University and Research and with the official test provider for that year.
IMAT 也是受政策风险影响最大的考试。意大利医学招生一直处于改革讨论之中，包括以其他选拔方式取代统一国考的提议。因此，目标是意大利医学方向的考生，必须把任何已发布的 IMAT 信息视为仅对所属招生周期有效，并向意大利大学与研究部及当年官方考试机构确认安排。
6. Where the Other Tests Went | 其他考试去了哪里
The migration followed two channels. The first is commercial computer-based delivery, dominated by Pearson VUE, which operates a very large global network of test centres. Oxford’s pre-interview written tests (including MAT and PAT), the LNAT used by law schools, and the UCAT used by medical and dental schools all moved into this kind of channel. Cambridge’s engineering and science admissions tests were restructured, with ENGAA and NSAA retired and replaced by a single new test, ESAT, while TMUA continued in a revised form – both delivered through the commercial network.
迁移沿两条通道展开。第一条是商业机考交付，由 Pearson VUE 主导，其拥有规模庞大的全球考试中心网络。牛津的面试前笔试（包括 MAT 与 PAT）、法学院使用的 LNAT、医学院与牙医学院使用的 UCAT，都进入了这类通道。剑桥的工程与科学类入学考试进行了重构：ENGAA 与 NSAA 停办，由单一新考试 ESAT 取代；TMUA 则以修订形式延续——两者均通过商业网络交付。
The second channel is outright abolition. BMAT, long used by Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial and UCL for medicine, was retired after the 2023 cycle, with medical schools consolidating onto UCAT. ELAT, the English Literature Admissions Test, was also discontinued. Abolition is worth noticing because it is the quietest form of change: nothing appears on a registration portal, so students who plan by habit may waste weeks preparing for a test that no longer exists.
第二条通道是直接停办。长期被牛津、剑桥、帝国理工与 UCL 用于医学专业的 BMAT，在 2023 年周期后退出，各医学院统一转向 UCAT。英语文学入学考试 ELAT 亦已停办。停办值得特别留意，因为它是”最安静”的变化：报名平台上什么都不会显示，而按习惯行事的学生可能会白白花数周准备一门已不存在的考试。
- Oxford: written tests now delivered through a commercial computer-based network; check the specific course page each cycle. | 牛津：笔试现通过商业机考网络交付；每学年请查看对应课程页面。
- Cambridge: ESAT and TMUA for the relevant courses; STEP remains separate and paper-based. | 剑桥：相关课程使用 ESAT 与 TMUA；STEP 独立存在且仍为纸笔。
- Law: LNAT through the commercial network; British Council no longer the registration route. | 法律：LNAT 通过商业网络进行；英国文化教育协会不再是报名路径。
- Medicine and dentistry (UK): UCAT is now the dominant test; BMAT is gone. | 英国医学与牙医：UCAT 现为主导考试；BMAT 已取消。
- Medicine (Italy): IMAT, with British Council retained in some regions. | 意大利医学：IMAT，部分地区保留英国文化教育协会。
7. Test Migration Map at a Glance | 考试迁移一览表
The table below is an orientation aid, not a substitute for official confirmation. Admissions testing is now revised almost annually, and the only reliable source is the awarding body’s own website for the cycle in question.
下表用于帮助建立整体认知，不能替代官方确认。入学考试如今几乎每年都在调整，唯一可靠的来源是考试机构针对该招生周期发布的官方网站信息。
| Test | 考试 | Used for | 用途 | Status from 2024 | 2024 年起状态 |
| STEP 2 / 3 | Cambridge mathematics | 剑桥数学 | Retained, paper-based, British Council centres still used | 保留，纸笔，仍使用英国文化教育协会考点 |
| IMAT | Italian medicine | 意大利医学 | Retained, British Council partner in some regions | 保留，部分地区仍与英国文化教育协会合作 |
| MAT, PAT and other Oxford tests | Oxford courses | 牛津各专业 | Moved to commercial computer-based network | 转至商业机考网络 |
| ESAT | Cambridge and Imperial engineering/science | 剑桥与帝国理工工程/科学 | New test, replaces ENGAA and NSAA | 新考试，取代 ENGAA 与 NSAA |
| TMUA | Mathematics, economics, computer science | 数学、经济、计算机 | Revised and re-delivered commercially | 修订后由商业网络交付 |
| LNAT | Law | 法律 | Commercial network | 商业网络 |
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