Page 15 - ELG2011 Nov Issue 473

El•Gazette 473.qxp_El•Gazette 473 10/11/2020 12:27 Page 15

NEWS

Can UK accreditors see PIXABAY

off the zombie schools?

By Melanie Butler availability”. Phone calls go to an
answerphone and emails are
A new phenomenon has emerged answered with an automatic reply
in British EFL: the zombie stating: “We are currently closed
language school. It is listed as for a short break as we prepare for
accredited, and its website the re-opening of the school
suggests that it is open, but it has under the new UK government
no premises, no staff, no students, guidelines. We will respond to
no tangible assets and the your query as soon as we return.”
company that owns it is no longer Who owns Mayfair School of
trading. English? The Executive Board
Take the Irish-owned Delfin must know, because they state
English School, London. On that, “Accreditation cannot be
March 4, Delfin English School bought or sold; the continuation
(UK) Ltd, went into liquidation, or transfer of accreditation is not
owing £368,297. When we wrote automatic following a change of Are zombie school coming for students?
to the British Council with ownership. Any change of
information on possible zombie ownership (proprietor, major have good reputations, and none from the impact of Covid-19.”
schools, its only physical presence shareholder, company, holding is soliciting fees from would-be In the middle of Covid-19
in the UK seemed to be a serviced company) has to be reviewed students, but with scores of UK chaos, can you really do both?
office in London. first.” course providers, there may be Accreditation UK may be the
After we went to press, the Which brings us to the many zombie schools with no only EFL accreditation scheme
DOS of Delfin contacted us. They question of who owns Cambridge building, no staff and a company left in the world where the school
currently have no school building, Academy of English, at 45 years on the verge of bankruptcy, but owners’ association is still a
but a small team of academic staff old, one of the UK’s grand old with an online booking platform partner in the scheme. New
are teaching online, employed schools, and long an EL Gazette that continues to take credit card Zealand, USA, Australia and
through another legal entity. We Centre of Excellence. As the payments. Malta all have abandoned the
asked the liquidator to inform us website makes clear, it is currently So, what about the students? idea, Ireland is planning to.
if this was a concern but have had closed and not accepting “Accreditation UK is It may also be the only one
no reply. bookings. Its news page committed to protecting the which does not check the
We apologise to the London announces that the school interests of those coming to study financial health of the school as
Delfin staff, but they were hard to building was sold in May. in the UK, at the same time as part of accreditation. In the
find since the website did not list What it doesn’t say is that on ensuring the UK ELT sector is middle of a pandemic, that could
a UK phone number, email or 20 July, having sold the building given every opportunity to recover put students at risk.
school address. for more than the value of its
We asked the British Council to debts, the schools’ owners, UK language schools no longer accredited
explain the procedure for a school Kamiya Schools Ltd, part of a In addition to the operations belonging to Instil Education
in liquidation, and a “UK Japanese educational trust, reported on page 7, the following language schools have
Accreditation spokesperson” appointed a liquidator, issued a been removed from the British Council accreditation list
replied: “Notification of company statement of insolvency and since we last reported on changes in July 2020:
liquidation is reviewed by the started winding up the company.
Executive Board, who may On the same day, three senior Ceased trading
require additional information… members of the school’s staff Bloomsbury International
before deciding the future of registered two new companies: a Global School of English, Edinburgh
accreditation.” trading company, Willow International House Aberdeen
And when does a school cease Education Ltd, and a dormant Language Gallery, Manchester
to exist? company, Cambridge Academy of MLS International College, Bournemouth
“A centre ceases to be English Ltd. On 13 August,
accredited when the Willow Education applied to Sold
Accreditation UK Executive trademark the school name. TEG English Bristol
Board decides there is sufficient It looks like a brave attempt by TEG English Cardiff
evidence to demonstrate they no staff to save their school, but the TEG English Portsmouth
longer meet the requirements for trading name is normally an asset TEG English Southampton
accreditation,” the spokesperson of the company in liquidation and
replied. can’t be sold until it is wound up. Still trading, but no longer accredited
They must know that the We wrote to the liquidator for English 2000 School of English
majority shareholder, Mayfair confirmation that the new ILS English, Nottingham
Education Group Ltd, was company had a right to the name Moorlands Hall
dissolved on 4 February this year, but received no reply. York Associates
and that the school moved to new In the meantime, Cambridge
premises. The website is live, Academy of English remains
advertising both online and face- accredited — but which STOP PRESS According to local press, Devon School of
to-face courses — although you Cambridge Academy? English is closing.
are advised to “check for All the schools named here
editorial@elgazette.com 15