Trinity GESE and ISE explained: the grades, the CEFR levels, how a pass is worked out, and the UK SELT versions

Trinity maps the grades to the CEFR like this. Grade 1 is below A1. Grade 2 is A1. Grades 3 and 4 are A2. Grades 5 and 6 are B1. Grades 7, 8 and 9 are all B2. Grades 10 and 11 are C1. Grade 12 is C2. The booklet splits them further (Grade 7 is B2.1, Grade 8 B2.2, Grade 9 B2.3), but on a certificate read against the CEFR, all three say B2.

Our reading: if an employer, a school or a visa asks for B2 in speaking and listening, Grade 7 already says B2. Grades 8 and 9 are harder exams that do not reach a higher CEFR level, so book them for the challenge, not for the level. If the requirement is B2 in all four skills, no GESE grade covers it: GESE certifies only speaking and listening, and Trinity's four-skill B2 is ISE II (below). A school that prepares candidates for Trinity made exactly this point to us on 2 November 2026.

The grades sit in four stages, and the exam gets longer as you go up: Initial (Grades 1–3), 5–7 minutes; Elementary (4–6), 10 minutes; Intermediate (7–9), 15 minutes; Advanced (10–12), 25 minutes. From Grade 4 you bring a topic you have prepared; from Grade 7 there is an interactive task you have to lead; from Grade 10 there is a formal presentation and a listening task.

Each phase of the exam gets a letter: A (Distinction), B (Merit), C (Pass) or D (Fail). Initial has one phase, Elementary two, Intermediate three and Advanced five. All phases weigh the same, and Trinity's conversion tables turn the letters into the result.

The tables have rules a candidate rarely hears about. At Intermediate (Grades 7–9), two Ds fail you, whatever the third letter: ADD, BDD and CDD are all a Fail. One D costs more than you might expect: AAD, two As and a D, is a plain Pass, not a Distinction or a Merit. At Advanced, three Ds fail (AADDD is a Fail), but two can still pass (ABCDD is a Pass). At Elementary, AD and CD are both a Pass; only DD fails.

The report form you get after the exam says only Pass or Fail. The level of pass is on the certificate: Pass with Distinction, Pass with Merit, or Pass. Provisional results come within two days, final results usually in one or two weeks (at most four), and certificates reach the centre within about four weeks.

If you fail and want to resit, at least one month must pass before you can enter again. Trinity says the rules are different for exams taken for UK visas.

ISE Paper has six levels: ISE A1, ISE Foundation (A2), ISE I (B1), ISE II (B2), ISE III (C1) and ISE IV (C2). You choose the level before you sit it. It has two modules, Reading & Writing and Speaking & Listening, which can be taken together or separately, depending on the centre.

To get the ISE certificate you must pass both modules at the same level, and each module only passes if both of its skills pass. In practice that means all four skills must reach the pass mark. A strong speaking score does not rescue a weak listening score.

At ISE II, the pass marks in live exams are 15 of 30 for reading, 14 of 30 for writing (both weighted scores), 8 of 16 for speaking, and 2 of 4 for listening. At ISE II and ISE III, listening is a single task marked out of 4, so the margin is small.

The certificate shows Distinction, Merit, Pass or Fail for each skill separately. Trinity states that these are not combined into an overall grade. A fail in one skill means no certificate, though you still get a diagnostic report on every skill.

ISE Digital is adaptive, so you do not choose a level: one test places you anywhere from A1 to C2, or "Not yet A1". It takes up to 105 minutes, including a levelling test, and all four modules must be taken in the same sitting.

Each module is scored 0 to 150, and the overall score is the average of the four. There are no separate module certificates. Trinity's FAQ says you can retake one skill within 90 days to improve a score.

This comparison is ours. The two ISE formats score in opposite ways. On ISE Paper, one weak skill fails the whole qualification. On ISE Digital, that same weak skill is averaged in with the other three, the way the Oxford Test of English and Cambridge work. Aptis works out its overall level in yet another way. Check which format your centre offers before you choose a strategy.

Taken at one of Trinity's UK SELT centres, GESE and ISE count as Secure English Language Tests for UK visas, settlement and citizenship. On 31 October 2026 Trinity's SELT page listed: GESE Grade 2 (A1) and Grade 3 (A2) for family visa extensions, GESE Grade 5 (B1) for settlement and British citizenship, all at £160; and ISE I (B1), ISE II (B2) and ISE III (C1), four-skill tests at £200, with ISE II for routes such as Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker.

As a SELT, both ISE modules must be taken on the same day. ISE results and the digital certificate arrive within 21 days. For GESE, provisional results are emailed by 9am the day after the exam, and the link to the digital certificate follows within 4 to 7 days.

Trinity says its certificates are valid for life, but it has recommended to the Home Office that only certificates less than two years old be accepted for visa and immigration purposes.

The B2 speaking and listening SELT is coming. From 26 March 2027 most settlement applicants will need B2 speaking and listening (our UK guide). Trinity's page says its B2 test, GESE Grade 7, will be available later this year; on 31 October it was taking registrations of interest, not bookings. It is a 15-minute one-to-one exam in three parts: a topic you prepare, an interactive task, and a conversation on two subjects the examiner chooses. Until it is on the Home Office list and bookable, the B2 SELTs you can sit cover all four skills (LanguageCert SELT scores).