The research conducted by the Language Centre's English Language Unit tracked the academic performance of international students over a four-year period. It also shows that retention rates on degree programmes are greatly improved if students take a pre-sessional course.

"These results demonstrate what a positive difference a pre-sessional course at the Language Centre can make for international students and how a pre-sessional facilitates successful completion of a degree programme, " says Rupert Herington, Marketing Coordinator for the Language Centre.

Pre-sessional courses are designed to develop a student's knowledge of academic English and the study skills needed for an effective university education. They are recommended for all international students, not just those who don't meet the University's minimum English language requirements. This year between July and September alone, some 620  international students studied at the Language Centre - a record number.

Yujiro Iida, a former Language Centre student who now works for Mitsubishi Electric in Japan, says: "I could never have started such an exciting career without my studies at the Language Centre. I really thank all staff members for their tremendous effort and support while I was in Leeds."

During the academic year, the Language Centre offers in-sessional support classes and pre-sessional programmes to international students. It employs a staff of 70, making it one of the largest university language centres in the UK and plays a prominent role in the Association of University Language Centres (AULC) and the British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes (BALEAP).

For more information about the Language Centre and the English language programmes available please visit www.leeds.ac.uk/homepage/249/language_centre or contact langc@leeds.ac.uk