GLOBAL MARKET REPORT

The UK secondary school sector has shown remarkable resilience in retaining overseas students during the Covid-19 pandemic, decreasing by just -14% between 2020 and 2021, according to results from the annual ISC census at the height of the pandemic. This compares with a decline of -43% over the same period for language schools in the UK, according to StudyTravel Magazine’s latest Global Market Report

Bethan Norris Senior Editor StudyTravel Magazine Living

Recovery over the next few years is also expected in the secondary sector with international student numbers increasing by 2% between 2021 and 2022, according to the latest census.

The fate of the UK secondary sector during the Covid-19 pandemic also looks relatively positive when compared with the other popular secondary destinations worldwide. International students studying at Canadian school districts declined by nearly 50% between 2019/20 and 2020/21, while those in the USA declined by 39% between 2020 and 2021. This is in large part due to the fact that the UK remained open during the entirety of the pandemic while many other destinations closed their borders.

A large part of the decline in international secondary school numbers globally can be put down to a loss in Chinese student enrolments – a global trend which started before the Covid-19 pandemic - with the UK, USA, Canada and Australia recording a collective decline in Chinese students of -61% between 2017 and 2022. While political tensions, as well as an increase in international schools in Asia, have fuelled some of this decline, UK schools were actually experiencing rising numbers of Chinese students up until a peak in 2020. Since 2020, Chinese students at UK schools have decreased by -41%, although it is hoped that numbers might increase again as China starts to open up again post-Covid.

Hong Kong is now the largest international student nationality for UK schools, overtaking China in 2022, while the Russian market – typically an important one for UK schools - has decreased by 56 per cent since its peak in 2015. Russian student numbers decreased by -14% between 2020 and 2022, although this decrease is likely to increase this year due to the effects of the war in the Ukraine. Other top European markets, eg Germany and Spain, could well make up the shortfall however, with both these markets performing well between 2021 and 2022, increasing by 34% and 108% respectively.

While the Covid-19 pandemic was a time of great upheaval and challenge for the study travel industry, the recovery period seems to be bringing with a time of great innovation and energy. The news pages of

StudyTravel Magazine have been awash with new developments and partnerships increasing course provision in the UK secondary sector in the last few months – particularly for the crowded UK junior and summer markets. Investment in accommodation has been top of the agenda for many UK language schools in the wake of a country-wide shortage of homestay provision and there is a visible determination to win back student share to the UK as the world opens its doors again.

There are many opportunities for UK secondary schools within this environment of recovery. Boarding schools already have ideal accommodation for short-stay summer course provision and facilities to enhance the personal, social and academic activities that schoolage children and their parents are demanding, having been lacking during Covid-19.

There is no doubt that international student demand for courses in the UK will be high this year as parents are anxious to make up for lost time. Secondary schools that are ahead in terms of offering opportunities for increasingly diverse academic and personal development will end up reaping the rewards.

The statistics in this article can be found in an article on Secondary School Trends Worldwide published in the October 2022 issue of StudyTravel Magazine on the StudyTravel.network.

ST Alphe events targeting the secondary and summer school sectors in 2023:

ST Alphe Summer Schools, Rome 3-5 February 2023

ST Secondary Focus Bangkok, 24-26 February 2023

ST Secondary Focus London, 20-22 April 2023

ST Secondary Focus Frankfurt, 29 September – 1 October 2023