About us
This section introduces you to the British Council, including who we are, what we do and how we are run. You can also learn about the history of the organisation and see our current job vacancies. To keep up to date with news about our work in cultural relations visit our news story page.Making a world of difference
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Making a difference for 75 years
The British Council was founded in 1934. This year marks our 75th anniversary. We have put together a special programme of events and activities for our anniversary year to involve people in our work and highlight the value of cultural relations.
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Where you will find us
We operate in 109 countries and territories around the world, building trust and engagement for the UK. In 2007-08 we reached over 112 million people.
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Creating educational opportunities the world over
In 2007-08 we administered 1.7 million examinations to 1.3 million students. Our Connecting Classrooms programme enabled over 1 million young people in 900 schools in the UK and around the world to learn together.
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A broad spectrum of work
As well as providing educational programmes and teaching the English language, our areas of work include the arts, science and technology, sport, governance and human rights.
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What we stand for and the goals we set
The British Council builds engagement and trust for the UK through the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people worldwide. Our work focuses on the major challenges of our age:
- building understanding between cultures and promoting positive social change
- developing the skills and creativity people need to prosper in the knowledge economy
- building and sustaining an international consensus for action on climate change.
About us
Who we are
We are the UK's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations.
What we do
We run programmes in education, English language, the arts, science and technology, sport and governance.
Opportunities
Working for us
If you're dedicated to cross-cultural development and looking for challenging opportunities, we have a range of jobs across the globe.
Partnership opportunities
As the world's largest international cultural relations organisation, we can offer unparalleled opportunities for businesses to engage with a wide variety of audiences, through a wealth of projects and activities.
