Special Report: Summer reboot

Recovery for summer operators last year was far better than initially forecast, with a significant number of students successfully travelling abroad to begin their summer adventures.

Recovery trends

Suzanne Mowat, Director of Marketing, Admissions & Development at multi-sector provider St Clare’s Oxford in the UK, notes they were realistic in their post-pandemic projections for last summer, but returning numbers were encouraging. “It was difficult to know how the market was going to react/recover. We saw an increase on our target for Teenage summer courses in 2022 and our adult summer course numbers nearly returned to 2019 figures which was a better recovery than we anticipated. For our summer juniors, the recovery was about what we expected given the market conditions.”

Student numbers for Summer Boarding Courses, a multi-campus summer school based in the UK, were very similar to pre-pandemic levels but not for all age groups, relates Will Finlayson. Catering specifically for ages six to 17, the pre-teen segment (ages 8-to-12) was slower to recover. “We saw fewer younger students on residential courses (8-to-12) in 2022, and more older students 13+, as those who had missed the opportunity capitalized on easing restrictions.”

A drop in under 12s was also noted by Bede’s Summer School, another UK-based provider offering fully inclusive academic and holiday residential summer programs across six boarding school and university locations. “We made the decision to focus on quality through occupancy,” explains Operations and Academic Manager, Alicja Piotrowska. “Our larger and older age-range schools were only slightly down from pre-pandemic levels due to the effects of Covid on Asian markets and the Russian invasion, as well as smaller capacities at our two biggest centers. It was the younger (under 12) market where we used to have four YL centers and only had one in 2022 that represented a big drop in demographics represented,” she continues.

After acquiring summer camp provider Language Study Centers (LSC) in 2020, UK-headquartered Bayswater Education consolidated its portfolio of seven LSC centers to run fewer but fuller summer programs in 2022, notes Managing Director Stephan Roussounis. Nationality mix was strong for Bayswater Summer in the UK with Scandinavia, Italy, Brazil, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Uruguay featuring highly, while its unique summer program in Cyprus – hosted on the University of Central Lancashire Cyprus campus and offering state of the art teaching facilities combined with brand new student residences – benefited from a greater nationality mix from Italy, France, Czech Republic and Poland, details Stephan.

For Camp America, one of the biggest international summer camp staff providers in the world, summer 2022 performed well, with recruitment matching pre-pandemic levels, according to a company spokesperson. Summer 2023 is looking good too for UK and international applicants to travel and work in the US with social media platforms helping to accelerate brand awareness. “TikTok has been our top marketing platform to promote and create brand awareness – especially for applicants to visually see people’s experience at camp.”

What’s new?

The pandemic disrupted all education sectors, including the summer vacation market, but it also gave providers the opportunity to focus on the type of offering that would win student interest back once students could travel again.

Talk English Schools which operates six year-round campuses across the USA, has been around for more than 20 years, but 2023 will see the provider take the plunge into the summer vacation market with the launch of a Teen Summer Camp. Taking place on the campus of Lynn University in Florida, Philippe Kohn, Vice President, Business Development, says, “We’ve had lots of interest and inquiries, so we are very hopeful to have 100+ juniors in that program (this summer).”

Offering something new and different for young adults aged 16 and above this summer is IH Manchester in the UK. The school’s Global Citizenship course, officially launched last year, hopes to inspire students learning English and encourage them to explore environmental and global topics through a mix of classroom lessons, project work – such as how to grow your own food – guest speakers and visits to local community projects. After its success last year, Emma Keene, Digital Marketing Manager, says, “We really wanted to bring the course to life, for it to be interactive and practical. The visit to a local project in Manchester was a huge success, it was wonderful to see students interacting and learning from local people.”

British Summer School (BSS), part of Exsportise, continues to reinvent the summer school concept having announced its ‘True Me’ evening activity program earlier this year. Unique to the school, the program complements regular courses and has been designed to develop personal and social skills while building students’ self-confidence following the pandemic.

Meanwhile, its new venue at Brambletye School in East Grinstead, UK is offering an alternative add-on to its Explorers of the Future course for six-to-12-year olds this summer, as Steve Wood, Managing Director of BSS explains. “We are launching an option to replace Core English with Creation Station, which offers practical sessions and workshops in Creative Arts subjects such as Art, Drama and Music, for those students who study in British/International Schools and whose parents don’t want them to have traditional English lessons in the summer.”

Bede’s Summer School, meanwhile, is expanding its LaLiga Football Camp UK program from two to four weeks this summer at its residential center in Dicker, East Sussex. “We are hoping to welcome close to 60 students each of the two-week courses,” notes Alicja. A new specialist course in Coding and Robotics will also run for two weeks in July at the Dicker site, home to a brand new en-suite accommodation facility – the New Dorms – which recently opened following multi-million-pound development.

Development occurred elsewhere across the school portfolio, and includes a new course in response to demand for general English courses for older teenagers in university locations. “English for the Future will focus on sustainability and future leaders – this will be run in Brighton along with the Pathways for Higher Education program and in our new location in Royal Holloway University,” observes Alicja.

Summer providers are used to welcoming hundreds upon hundreds of young learners every year but Bayswater Summer made the decision to downsize its summer model this year to ensure it focusses on quality rather quantity. “Bayswater is moving to more boutique summer schools with a smaller capacity and higher emphasis on the student experience,” explains Stephan.

As well as Classic English and Digital Marketing, Bayswater Summer has further developed its professional courses aimed at Generation Z and will run a Global Leadership Program at the University of Westminster (Harrow) this summer. “We see growth in the university taster experience market and the desire for something different to General English,” says Stephan.

There have been some small additions to summer provision at St Clare’s Oxford, including two new junior courses targeting nine-to-15 years olds: Active English with Multi-Sports (to develop football, basketball, swimming or tennis skills) and Active English with Art (to expand creativity and confidence in performing and visual arts), plus a new Adult course – University Introduction – for ages 17 and above who may be looking to fine tune their academic English skills for three weeks in the run up to the new academic year.

A new English integration program at Twyford Summer School for young learners is now part of the summer package at Summer Boarding Courses, meanwhile. “At this age range, fun is a particularly important part of the program, and sets the foundation for future study travel,” explains Will. Working in partnership with its sister company, Ultimate Activity Camps, the school is looking forward to providing a truly immersive activity program, he adds.

“We also continue to develop our Content and Language Integrated Language (CLIL) subject based courses, with Architecture and Psychology added for 2023. This is very much driven by demand of students with increasingly high levels of English language proficiency,” notes Will.

Over in Canada, ILSC is looking forward to bringing back its ILSC Canada residence programs at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and McGill University downtown campus in Montreal this summer.

Meanwhile in the USA, ELS’s Fun & Sun Camp at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Malibu Youth Camp on the campus of Pepperdine University in California will both return this year. “All of these programs, which were on hiatus during the pandemic, offer youth students the chance to learn English (or French in Montreal) on a college or university campus and get their first taste of an international education experience abroad. They provide an excellent gateway for international students who may want to eventually pursue higher education in the USA or Canada,” says ILSC’s Mara Muller.

As for its vocational arm (Greystone College), the provider anticipates summer tourism will be in full swing across its Canadian study destinations, with students leveraging their work permits to support the tourism and hospitality economies. To support this, it will be hosting several career fairs and inviting summer tourism organizations to participate, notes Mara. It will also hold regular career fairs along with its college graduation ceremonies over in Australia, which, like Canada has been experiencing labor shortages. “In all of our Greystone College destinations, we’re expecting greater participation by local employers as they look for ways to fill labor shortages with skilled and enthusiastic student workers.”

Students are invited to join Sprott Shaw Language College’s (SSLC) Global Leaders Summer Camp on campus at the University of British Columbia in Canada this summer. Initially an online summer camp with specific focus on Sustainable Development Goals, the provider is pleased to be back in the classroom again with further plans for its active-learning curriculum, notes Executive Director Barbara Godt.

Challenges

At the time of writing, bookings for summer 2023 were looking positive for contributors. Will at Summer Boarding Courses notes there has been a giant uptick in advance bookings. “Students who missed out last summer are looking to secure their places early. With uncertainty around prices for travel, there is a strong cohort of early bookers.” However, at the other end of the scale are those that prefer to keep their options open and their booking more fluid, he says. “I think we will continue to see people taking last-minute decisions, when they have more visibility closer to the summer.”

Bede’s is tracking ahead of 2019 with an increase in bookings from countries that were not strongly represented in 2022, like Brazil or China, with a lot of Asian markets opening up after a long period of restrictions, says Alicja. Finding adequately qualified teachers with the right to work in the UK, however, remains a sector challenge. “Although,” she adds, “we were really proactive in recruiting the right staff which was reflected in receiving a strength in Academic staff profile and Academic management in the latest 2022 British Council Accreditation UK report.”

Shortages in homestay provision has been one the greatest challenges for St Clare’s, comments Suzanne. With the reduction in the number of host families willing to take in international students, and issues in student residence availability all the year round (which has created a backlog of undergraduate students), Bayswater Summer is currently exploring its own residential options in key destinations, says Stephan.

Indeed, many have already entered the residential summer vacation market this year with a host of residential summer options springing up including Elac Study Vacation’s new residential center at Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, UK; ELT provider Bell reopening its residential center in St Albans; a new residential summer center for Queen Ethelburga’s in the UK and the previously mentioned teen residential summer camp by Talk English Schools which will utilize the campus facilities at Lynn University in Florida. Watch this space for more.

Listening to agents

Given its international appeal, Camp America’s working relationship with agents has developed well over the years. “For our overseas department we have agents in the countries we work with to screen the applicants and we also have interviewers across the UK and overseas who will interview the applicants to see if they meet the requirements to work a summer camp.”

ILSC continues to work with its network of global agent partners to bring additional study, travel and work opportunities to students, with the launch of its fifth center in Australia this year. The new Perth center will open in Q2 and offer ILSC English language courses and vocational programs through the Greystone College brand. “We’re very excited about the opportunities that this new Australian study destination will offer to our students, including amazing landscapes and beaches, affordability, great off-campus work opportunities, and increased opportunities for migration thanks to Perth’s status as a “designated regional area,” notes Mara. Meanwhile, its Adelaide center is undergoing substantial expansion.

Another provider listening to agent partners in a bid to fulfil shifting student demand is UKLC. This summer the provider of residential and homestay English language and activity programs, will deliver summer programs for individuals and small groups in partnership with boarding school Clifton College in Bristol. Jessica Goldsworthy, UKLC Sales and Marketing Manager, highlights the importance of asking agents if educators can help plug any gaps in program offerings. “We are always being asked by our partners if we have something to offer specifically for individuals and small groups and it’s wonderful to now have something that fulfils this.”