Page 28 - ELG2210 Oct Issue 482

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UK RANKINGS 2022-2023

PHOTO KATI FROM PIXABAY

chains
Which
Which chains

r emain unbr oken?
remain unbroken?

A look at the state of the UK’s chain schools, by Melanie Butler

T here are three main differences between the outcomes on this Name ? ?? - * 0 1 2 * 3 4 * 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
year’s rankings for language school chains and the ones that
BC
we ran last year.
The first difference is the disappearance of two names,
Eurocentres, now part of the Bayswater College (BC) Group and TEG, Bell ? ** * * **
BSC
now part of the new ILC chain. CES * * ** *
The second is the reappearance of British Study Centres (BSC). EC * * *** *
The third is the appearance of a completely new symbol on our chart
of chains: a question mark denoting a centre we cannot place in the EF * * ** * *
**
rankings because either there is no report at all yet or the report on the
Council website refers to a different operation and/or to the previous ELC * * *
owner. Historically, the biggest impact on the inspection outcomes of an ILC ?? ** *
individual school is a change of ownership. Acquisition typically leads to Kap ? ** * ** ** *
a drop of three or four areas of strength on the next inspection report, Kings * ** **
even when it’s taken over by a higher performing chain. The Gazette *
cannot in good faith include the report of any recently acquired operation LSI * * *
which has not undergone at least a spot check following its acquisition. MH * ** *
We have also had to leave out any centres which are marked by the
British Council as not currently operating, but due to re-open next OISE * * * ** ** *
year, not least because one such centre has already withdrawn from the Ox Int * ** *
scheme. We are sure most of them will come back. SG ** * **
Please note, all centres under the same ownership are listed under *
the name of the main chain, even when they use a different brand SH * * **
name. So, for example, Regent and Basil Paterson both appear under TEN ? * * ** * ** **
OISE in our rankings. **
Once again, as every year, we have marked in red the junior Key
operations. You will see at a quick glance these are typically the
weakest link in the chain results. Asterisks (*) in red denote young learner operations. Asterisks (*) in
black denote single centres accepting either adults only or adults and
Junior courses are often outliers even in the most consistently young learners.
good group of schools. Our industry benchmark, for example, is not a
commercial chain, but an association of long-established, independent ?/?? = centre/young learner operation awaiting re-inspection following
new ownership or readmission to accreditation scheme.
private language schools, The English Network, known as TEN. If you
look at its results, shown at the bottom of our table, you will see that all W = Wlthdrawn, accreditation under review, awaiting re-inspection.
but one of their member centres, including two junior operations, are BC = Bayswater College, BSC = British Study Centres, CES = Centre for
Centres of Excellence. The third junior operation, however, is an outlier. English Studies, ELC = The English Language Centre Brighton, ILC =
The ability to run some of the world’s best language schools for formerly TEG, Kap = Kaplan, LG = Language Gallery, LSI = Language
over-16s does not automatically mean you will be equally good with Studies International (NB, does NOT include LSI Portsmouth), MH =
Malvern House, Ox Int = Oxford International, SG = St Giles, SH =
younger learners. Stafford House, TEN = The English Network Association.
28 October 2022