At the British Council in Bahrain, we work to build relationships between people and institutions in the UK and the Kingdom of Bahrain through programmes and events in the areas of Education, English, Arts and Society.
Much of what we do in Bahrain has an international dimension involving countries in Middle East and North Africa.
The British Council’s first office in Bahrain was established in 1941. As a world leader in teaching English, we have have taught many thousands of students in Bahrain at our language centre.
In addition to teaching English, we also support collaboration in other areas and work closely with local institutions. We work closely with the Ministry of Education on teacher development and on a reading programme for children. Over 30,000 people in Bahrain use our on-line resources for independent learning of English each year.
OUR WORK IN ARTS
The UK is an important contributor to the arts and culture scene in Bahrain. We work closely with established UK artists as well as local galleries to deliver the workshops and have so far trained over 200 local artists selected for their entrepreneurial outlook.
Another major focus of our arts work is art therapy and disability arts. Our pioneering art therapy workshops with Tutubi Arts UK and Disability Artist Rachel Gadsden who also expanded her work extensively this year to include Artist Residency programmes and performances. This is all helping to facilitate work with the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Education to train carers in their social centres. The aim is for the work to lead to discussions on policy and curricula reform including art therapy in schools.
Find out more about our work in the arts
OUR WORK IN EDUCATION AND SOCIETY
We help students find out more information about studying in the UK, and help them develop their career. We create links between schools and universities in Bahrain and the UK as well as host a number of educational events each year where we invite UK educational institutions to visit Bahrain and offer their advice to students face-to-face.
We lead in the employability and skills sector and as the go-to partner for UK training and expertise. We will increase our support for UK universities interested in Bahrain. Our work will make a significant contribution to the UK’s prosperity agenda.
Find out more information about our work in education.
OUR WORK IN ENGLISH AND EXAMS
We have increased the impact and reach of our work in English and Exams, giving many more Bahraini students access to international opportunities, and making a major contribution to better quality English teaching and assessment in schools and universities.
We offer and support a wide range of exams, including IELTS, school exams and many other university, medical, and professional examinations. These exams are recognised internationally and are a good way of measuring your ability in English. Employers use the exams to select employees with good English and universities often use IELTS to check the English ability of potential students.
Find out more about the exams we offer in Bahrain.