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Business Dropping off? Bournemouth and Elsewhere..

 
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Is the traditional language school dying out?
Yes
60%
 60%  [ 3 ]
No
0%
 0%  [ 0 ]
I don't give a crap
40%
 40%  [ 2 ]
Total Votes : 5

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Mr. Bourenmouth



Joined: 03 Feb 2011
Posts: 21

PostPosted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 9:37 pm    Post subject: Business Dropping off? Bournemouth and Elsewhere.. Reply with quote

Everyone is complaining about not enough students here in sunny Bournemouth this season; down 40% in some schools. Directors are freaking out. An industry in decline? The schools that ARE doing well, have totally cashed in on the Arab market, and have tonnes of Arabs in their schools, whimpering about the lack of anything other than other Arabs. I am guessing it's much the same in other parts of the country?

It seems that the British Council stipulation that everyone have a Bachelor's degree is also taking its toll. Schools are staffed by drifters in their forties and fifties and non-native speakers masquerading as British people. (The schools' dirty little secret that they don't want agents to find out).

It's all becoming a bit of a sorry mess. Quite funny really. Time to head out overseas or look for a new skill.

Confused
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Dedicated



Joined: 18 May 2007
Posts: 972
Location: UK

PostPosted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 10:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think Bournemouth is suffering from the perception that it is a town for retired, well-off pensioners and therefore too sedate 'boring' for young students. I have had numerous students who said they hated the place. It is very difficult to persuade them otherwise.

However, the EFL/EAP business seems to be booming in Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, York, Durham according to contacts. Visa requirements have also become more stringent, wiping out much of the elementary/beginner levels. Tier 4 visa holders must be IELTS Band 5.5. Here in London we are swamped with Chinese and Russians.
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Gamajorba



Joined: 03 May 2015
Posts: 357

PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 7:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mr. Bournemouth, a girl I did CELTA with went to Bournemouth afterwards and has said pretty much what you said - it's dying out and overrun with Arabs. However, also in Birmingham where I'm based, schools/colleges are not doing so well. Most institutions (mostly colleges/community centres) around the Birmingham area have actually stopped doing ESOL courses because of student numbers. One school even said it closed for Ramadan because almost all of its students are Arabs!

However, the 2 main languages schools here are doing OK, but not as well as they have done before:

School A, a council operated one, I believe isn't so keen to take sponsored students (which essentially disqualifies most Arab nationalities!), but remains popular with Europeans due to significantly cheaper prices (and free classes taught by CELTA trainees)

School B, a privately operatedone, does take sponsored students, but is subsequently overrun with Kuwaitis and Saudis, which is a common complaint amongst students.

Again, as far as location goes, many of my students (and their friends) say they don't like Birmingham, despite the fact they can go EVERYWHERE so easily and cheaply (if they damn well made plans) and still not spend a fortune like they would in Oxford or London.
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psychedelicacy



Joined: 05 Oct 2013
Posts: 180
Location: Beijing

PostPosted: Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm doing a temporary summer job at a Bournemouth language school and the vast majority of our learners are Europeans (French and Spanish, mostly). As far as I know, our capacity is completely full in July and August. No idea about the situation generally, but you always see large groups of teens at language schools walking around the town - again, usually Europeans.
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Gamajorba



Joined: 03 May 2015
Posts: 357

PostPosted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 8:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

psychedelicacy wrote:
I'm doing a temporary summer job at a Bournemouth language school and the vast majority of our learners are Europeans (French and Spanish, mostly). As far as I know, our capacity is completely full in July and August. No idea about the situation generally, but you always see large groups of teens at language schools walking around the town - again, usually Europeans.


Makes a change from Gulf nationalities Very Happy
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Mr. Bourenmouth



Joined: 03 Feb 2011
Posts: 21

PostPosted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 2:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

psychedelicacy wrote:
I'm doing a temporary summer job at a Bournemouth language school and the vast majority of our learners are Europeans (French and Spanish, mostly). As far as I know, our capacity is completely full in July and August. No idea about the situation generally, but you always see large groups of teens at language schools walking around the town - again, usually Europeans.


I'm not saying it's dropped off completely, but I do know that the biggest and most famous of the independent language schools in Bournemouth is way down, and there is a rumour that it is laying off admin staff. Their famous summer runs to the airport are at a fraction this year of what they were last. Other schools are complaining of a drop of up to 50%. Some are saying it's just a bad year (Greek crisis, strong pound, general tension in Europe), others that this language school industry (not the wider secondary and higher education industries, which are booming) is in decline, perhaps because English language education is being delivered in schools to a much better standard across the world.

Certainly, the blood letting and price / commission wars have been going on for a long time, and prospective students are getting wise to this, opting for cheaper schools. I can't see things ever returning to the days when prestigious and expensive schools were packed with wealthy students.
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CANDLES



Joined: 01 Nov 2011
Posts: 605
Location: Wandering aimlessly.....

PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 9:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've just finished a summer school job and not one ARAB or ANY MIDDLE EASTERN about! Chinese, Italian, Russians, Spaniards, a few Turkish, Portuguese and a few Japanese students. Laughing
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