1978
The British Council office in the Philippines was established in Makati.
1980
The British Council inaugurates the Centre and the Library in New Manila, Quezon City
1980s-1990s
British Council spearheaded various events and programmes to introduce and promote UK culture and arts in the Philippines
1996
The British Council office relocated to Taipan Place located in the Ortigas Centre, the central business district of Pasig City. The Information Centre was also officially opened to the public.
1998
British Council conducted its first Education UK Fair in Manila to promote UK education in the Philippines.
2000
The Knowledge Learning Centre was formally opened and replaced the English language school. To cater for a growing audience in Manila, the Knowledge Learning Centre was created in a new spacious office on the 10th Floor of Taipan Place.
2003
The British Council office celebrated its 25th anniversary. In the same year, British Council became the representative of the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music in the Philippines. Since that year, we have been conducting both the Theory and Practical examinations for the Royal School of Music.
2010
The organisation opened its IELTS Resource Centre (previously Knowledge Learning Centre), a library and repository of review materials for IELTS test preparations.
2011
The first IELTS Resource Centre was opened in Cebu in partnership with SME Networks Phils Training Centre.
2014
The Newton Agham Programme was inaugurated. For nine years, the UK and the Philippines, through the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), have awarded 27 PhD Scholarships, 21 Institutional Links, 11 Researcher Links Workshops, five Researcher Links Travel Grants, and two STEM Education Programme grants.
2016
Joint Development of Niche Programmes through Philippine-UK Linkages (JDNP) Project was launched with CHED. A pilot project on transnational education (TNE) in the Philippines, it produced 17 joint, dual and double postgraduate degree programmes and had so far supported 100 graduates.
2016
The European Union awarded the contract for the Justice Sector Reform Programme: Governance in Justice (GOJUST) to a consortium of organisations under the leadership of the British Council.
2018
The British Council started offering IELTS on Computer (IoC).
2018
The Creative Innovators Programme was launched in the Philippines, aimed to contribute to more sustainable and impact-led creative hubs that can better support the country's creative industries.
2019
Connections Through Culture Grants was launched in Southeast Asia, supporting collaborations in the arts between the UK and the East Asia.
2020
The Woven Networks Programme was launched in partnership with Forest Foundation as part of the British Council's global Crafting Futures programme that aims for a sustainable future through making and collaboration.
2020
A Pillar-Assessed Contribution Agreement (PACA) for the provision of Technical Assistance for the Justice Sector Reform Programme: Governance in Justice II (GOJUST II) was awarded to the British Council by the European Union, paving the way to innovate and streamline justice reform for a more efficient, effective and accountable formal justice system in the Philippines.
2021
Access and Competitiveness through Internationalisation of Higher Education (ACT-IHE) was launched with CHED as second phase to JDNP. The on-going programme aims to produce five new dual degree programmes in engineering, health sciences, education, computer technology and biology.
2022
The first ever British Council's initiative on English as a Medium of Education (EME) programme was implemented in collaboration with CHED. The EME training, designed to support internationalisation, provided professional development opportunity for 50 Master Trainers and over 1,000 university academics trained across 17 regions.
2023
The British Council signed its first MOU with DTI to support the creative economy and the implementation of the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act (PCIDA).
2023
GOJUST supported the establishment and operationalisation of twelve (12) Justice Zones nationwide in the cities of Angeles, Bacolod, Balanga, Baguio, Calamba, Cebu, Davao, Naga, Puerto Princesa, Quezon City, Tagaytay and Zamboanga.
2023
The first Study UK Alumni Awards was launched in the Philippines. The awards aim to recognise outstanding achievements of Filipino UK alumni across four categories: science and sustainability, culture and creativity, social action, and business and innovation.