Page 25 - ELG2309 Sep Issue 486

UK RANKINGS 2023-24
Battle of the brands

How have the chain schools fared this year? Melanie Butler takes a
deeper look into their results.

he language school chains have long dominated the rankings; Consistency is easier in smaller operations with less than six schools.
large international groups including Kaplan, EC and EF had Statistically, these are consistent if they all fit in one standard deviation,
all, or the vast majority, of their branches bunched together which means there is only five points of difference between the lowest
T in our Centre of Excellence category, meaning they had been and highest scores. So, in our table, Oxford International is more
awarded at least nine net areas of strength by the British Council. consistent than King’s, but with lower scores.
In any branded chain – from Hyatt Hotels to EF language schools – For chains of six schools or more, we allow two standard deviations,
consistent quality is critical, so we always show the results in a table like so they should cluster within nine consecutive points. High-scoring EF
the one below. We put a tick for each branch under the columns labelled does this, as does one of the new kids on the block, ILC, which is lower
by their net scores (from 0-9) to their BC score. The ‘-’ column shows scoring.
which schools have negative results (more weaknesses than strengths). As for the best chain, it’s hard to tell. Take the difference between
Any branches whose accreditation is under review are placed in the Bell – a chain with one owner and four schools – and its historic rival
‘UR’ column. The ‘?’ column shows schools who have not yet received a International House (IH) which isn’t a chain at all. IH has twice as
full BC report under their current owners. many schools, the vast majority of which are separately-owned, so you
Each tick represents a school. Green ticks received a full report, would expect its results to be less consistent.
whereas blue ticks received a compliance report. For more information Bell has a higher mean average score than IH, whereas IH has a
on reports, check our explanation on page 16. slightly higher percentage of Centres of Excellence; 62% compared to
A quick glance reveals only one small chain, ELC Brighton, has stars 50%. In terms of consistency, IH is off our target by 11%, whereas Bell is
beside all three of its unbranded schools, making each of them a Centre out by 40%. On average, IH fees are lower.
of Excellence. So, who is the winner in the battle of the brands? You decide…

Name UR - 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 ?

ELC Brighton (3)  
Language Gallery
(3)   

Stafford (4)    

Studio (3)  
LSI (3)   
Bell (4)  

Malvern (4)    
Bayswater (4)   

BSC (5)   
CES (5)    

Kings (5)   
Oxford Int (4)   

EC (6)    
ILC (6)    
OISE (6)      

St Giles (6)   
EF (9)      

Kaplan (11)       
IH (8)     

editorial@elgazette.com 25