Page 13 - ELG1803 Mar Issue 455

RANKING 2018 . UK Language centres

NEC Corporation of America

Ten years of excellence

How have language schools’ fortunes changed over the past decade?
Melanie Butler takes a look

he EL Gazette Centre of Excellence The rise and rise up the rankings of some Aberdeen. In fact, the biggest change in the
ranking was first published exactly of the big chains is one of the biggest changes decade may have been in the locations of
ten years ago. The top school was in the last decade. Only Embassy has seen excellence rather than individual providers. So
TWimbledon School of English. its score fall, an example, perhaps, of how congratulations go to the North, which, based
Ten years later, alongside ELC Bristol, it is constant changes of ownership can damage on the scores of its accredited schools, has
back at the top. the ethos that is found in the best performing drawn ahead of London and the South East.
They are two of only four accredited centres schools. Eurocentres and new entrants It now claims second place in the regional
ever to reach the top spot. Maltese-owned EC have the highest scores rankings behind Cambridge and the East of
The others are English in Chester, the top and the most consistent outcomes – but both England.
school in the North which now finds itself just have only six schools and
one point behind its rivals, and Bell Young neither has a separate young
Learners. learner operation. Among
An analysis of the top performers, looking the bigger chains Kaplan,
at how their make-up has changed in the last British Study Centres and EF
decade, reveals a lot about the British industry. international have the highest
Right at the top, the well-established, average scores, but British
privately-owned language schools predominate, Study Centres is the only top
schools such as Lake School Oxford, 40 years UK chain with a Centre of
old this year and joint third nationally. Excellence for young learners.
Specialist centres also tend to do well. In the university sector, age
Teacher training specialist, NILE in Norwich, is not necessarily correlated
joins them at the top, also in third place with to rank. Still at the top is
fourteen points. Brighton, which became
The advantage of specialising is also clear a university in 1992, just
for young learners. The three top providers, ahead of UCL which was first
clustered together with 13 points, are all established in 1826.
specialists: Bishopstrow College is the top year- Both have featured in the
round boarding school, Discovery Summer is rankings since the beginning,
the top multicentre and St Edmund’s College is along with stalwarts such
the top boarding school-run summer centre. as Manchester and Leeds
Isca, Exeter, the top performing family- Beckett.
run summer school, is just behind with Universities have also
twelve points. With young learners, it seems, played a key role in the
ownership matters. Boarding schools, family- growth of ELT in new regions
run single centres or small multicentres do of the country. Aberystwyth,
well. The two multicentres run by boarding for example, has just become
schools, Bede’s and Millfield, are both centres the top language centre in
of excellence. Wales. A decade ago it was
One group that does not do so well with one of only three of four
young learners is made up of the big generalist accredited language centres in
chains of language schools which offer the whole of the region.
everything from executive English programmes In the growing Scottish
to residential courses for eight-year-olds. market the top centre is IH
12 February 2018 editorial@elgazette.com