Opinion… from the Editor, 28.11.24

Expansion plans: Following an announcement earlier this year it was expanding into Canada through a strategic partnership with St Giles International Vancouver, US-based ELT provider CEL San Diego, Pacific Beach, Santa Monica & Vancouver has announced it is moving to a new state-of-the-art facility in Pacific Beach, two minutes from its current location. The new location has an expanded capacity for more than 300 students and will see its San Diego Downtown and Pacific Beach centers consolidate.

Elsewhere, having recovered well from the pandemic, and outgrowing its original Cape Town City Centre school location, Good Hope Studies in South Africa is also relocating to larger premises. According to School Director, Wolfgang Graser , the new state of the art campus in the city’s CBD has been built to “withstand the highest demands”, a positive indication that South Africa’s ELT sector is prepared to welcome greater numbers as student mobility faces increased restrictions in traditional destinations like Australia, Canada, and the UK.

Negative UK news: Sadly, this week’s announcement that Edinburgh-based language school, IH Edinburgh, has closed its doors is a stark reminder that not all language school businesses have been able to overcome the disruption caused by the Covid pandemic. Established in 2005, the school only became an affiliate member of International House World Organization (IHWO) last year but has struggled to rebound post-Covid, confirmed IHWO in a statement. Fortunately, affected students are now being supported through English UK ‘s Student Emergency Support (SES) scheme.

Positive UK news: There has been some positive news in the UK this week however with welcome confirmation that European children travelling in a French school group will be exempt from the UK ETA requirement when it fully launches next year. There had been concerns the policy, which has been expanded to include more countries, including EU nationals, would have implications on French school groups visiting the UK, but the UK Home Office has now agreed that until a group solution can be developed EU, EEA and Swiss children can continue to use their identity cards on organized school trips. A temporary measure but a welcome one all the same.

Nicola Hancox, Editor of StudyTravel Magazine

The first-ever ST Alphe Secondary Focus, Mexico City took place last week, and there’s been some great feedback from delegates that attended the event. News Editor, Matthew Knott, was also there to ask Mexican agents about current outbound trends, including the prediction that markets are set to diversify with Canada, the top destination for a majority of Mexican agencies, in the thick of changes to its international education policy.

And it would be unusual not to write about Australia’s international education sector in this column(!), so today’s news that the ESOS Amendment Bill remains adjourned in the Senate and government plans to introduce enrolment caps from 1 January have been halted (for now) means those in the industry can breathe a little easier until debate resumes in the new year, ahead of the May elections.