Page 21 - ELG2304 Apr Issue 484

RANKINGS
Top UK Summer Courses 2023 Agents beware of

Ranking School Name Type ignoring BC advice
Score
15/15 SBC (R)
14/15 Bell Young Learners Multicentres (R) Reading the reports can save a lot of
14/15 Discovery Summer (R) problems, Melanie Butler reports
14/15 English in Chester 14+ (H)
13/15 Bishopstow College (BS) ost Agents choose a school based on whether it has been
accredited by the British Council without looking at any of the
13/15 Broadstairs English Centre * data the British Council Inspectors have published about it.
13/15 English in Chester 14+ (H) M While the summer schools listed here are among the best
13/15 Isca (H) in the EFL world they are not typical of the sector. For example, all
13/15 Millfield (BS) the language schools operators whose summer scores have been listed
here have obtained at least 9 areas of strength on Inspection. The most
12/15 Heathfield (BS) common score for summer providers is just three.
12/15 IH Bristol (H,R) Nine providers currently have zero areas of strength or a net negative scores
12/15 IH Newcastle (H,R) – which means they have more Needs for Improvement than strengths.
Worse still – three summer operations currently have their
12/15 IH Torquay 14+ (H) accreditation suspended awaiting a new inspection. One has failed Staff
12/15 Loxdale English Centre (H) Management, Publicity, Academic Management and Teaching another
11/15 Concord College (BS) went down in Student Welfare and Safeguarding.
Of Safeguarding in the third, Inspectors write: “There is insufficient
11/15 Exsportise (R) provision for the safeguarding of students under the age of 18 within the
11/15 Harrow School (BS) school; and in the leisure activities provided. A safeguarding policy is in place
11/15 Sherborne International (BS), (BS) but key staff have not been trained. Recruitment and supervision systems are
10/15 Bede’s Summer School (BS) insufficiently robust and record keeping is poor.”
How are agents supposed to know that these schools are in trouble?
10/15 ECS (R) Simple. They are supposed to read the inspection reports before they
10/15 EF Bournemouth (H) send children to the school.
10/15 EF Eastbourne (H) The British system of accreditation inspection is very transparent: the
10/15 King’s Summer (BS) full inspection reports for every operator are available for anyone to see
on https://www.britishcouncil.org/education/accreditation/centres
10/15 Language in Action NEW (R) If a centre is suspended awaiting re-inspection the report will state
10/15 Manor Courses (R) “The summary statement has been withdrawn and should not be used.”
10/15 Sidmouth International (H) Failure to check the reports of individual schools can be a very
10/15 St Clare’s Oxford (BS) expensive mistake. Some years ago a parent phoned me from Spain to
complain about a summer school her daughter had been enrolled in: it
10/15 St Edmund’s College (BS) had failed to pick her up at the airport, sent her to the wrong host family
10/15 Stonyhurst (BS) and put her in a class full of adults.
10/15 Wimbledon School of English Young Learners (R) I checked online for the British Council report of the school in
9/15 Bucksmore Education (R) question; it has failed in safeguarding.
“Why did the agent recommend this school?” she shouted. I said she
9/15 Celtic English Academy NEW (H,R) could complain to the British Council. “I’m a lawyer” said the woman,
9/15 Churchill House Summer schools (R) “Just send the report to me and I’ll sue the agent.”
9/15 EF Cambridge (H,R)
9/15 English Experience (H)
9/15 International House London Young Learners (R)
9/15 St Brelade’s (H,R) COPYRIGHT PEXELS.COM
9/15 UKLC (R)

Key
R = Residential language school operations H- Homestay
summer courses available
BS = Boarding school owned summer operation
Blue = compliance inspection. School can go down but not up.
Red = Full Inspection NEW Centre of Excellence since 2020
Score = Total number of areas of strength awarded – minus
Needs for Improvement Noted / maximum number of areas
inspected.

This ranking is based on the full inspection reports for all accredited
language centres available on https://www.britishcouncil.org/
education/accreditation/centres as of March 19 2023.
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