Welcome to our Summer 2021 Newsletter!
We hope you are managing to plan for a reasonable Summer, wherever you are based. We send our best wishes and, as always, hope that our articles help to keep you informed about the international education market.
UK Education Guide in the news
Catching up with lost study time this Summer...
Whilst the Summer is normally a time for pupils to relax and enjoy a break from studying, many families, due to the impact of the pandemic, are looking for additional educational provision for their children over the holidays.
In this article written by us and published by The PIE, we explore how UK based Boarding schools, online tutors and Summer school providers are helping international students get ready for the new school year!
blog.thepienews.com/2021/05/supporting-international-students-lost-study-time/
New Minimum Standards for Boarding schools-what changes are likely to be implemented?
In this article for StudyTravel Ltd (ST Magazine & ST Alphe Conferences), we explore the potential impact of these new standards due to be launched later this year.
With input from sector leaders, we particularly focus on how the new Standards are likely to tighten up Guardianship arrangements for international pupils studying in the UK.
The pandemic has certainly highlighted the value of this important role in keeping international pupils safe and well...
studytravel.network/magazine/news/2/28139
What could and should replace the IGCSE and GCSE?
It looks increasingly likely that a new system of post qualification offers from Universities will replace the current system of offers being made before IB/BTEC and A Level results are announced.
This change inevitably raises the question about the value and current content of GCSE’s and IGCSE’s. If they are no longer needed to inform a University offer, are they still fit for purpose?
In this article for The PIE we highlight views from Boarding school leaders about the pros and cons of the current qualifications, particularly in relation to their value to international students, and explore what might replace them?
blog.thepienews.com/2021/04/what-could-should-replace-gcses/
You might also like to read a recent article about A Levels v IB in a post-covid world?
It’s an ongoing debate about which qualification is best, but in this article for Study Travel magazine we look at latest opinions from sector leaders. Perhaps with its broader focus on enhanced ‘soft skill’ development the value of the IB is coming to the fore...
studytravel.network/magazine/news/2/27780
Citizenship Award
We are delighted to announce our second winner and thrilled that the winner has worked so tirelessly during the pandemic in their home country, India, which has been so badly affected by Covid-19. Congratulations Oliver - we couldn’t have a more deserving winner.
Oliver Wood from Millfield
Millfield student Oliver Wood and his family have been supporting their local community in New Delhi throughout lockdown, teaching rugby, American football, English and delivering goods.
Lower Sixth Oliver has been sharing his passion for sport with a group of local students, after volunteering to run an American Football Millfield Activity Programme (MAP) which inspired him to bring it to India. Oliver has benefitted all ages of the Tikli Bottom community, from delivering toys for the school’s Montessori classes to playing chess with an elder for the evening.
Millfield has donated sports equipment to aid former Prep pupil Oliver’s coaching and Millfield Prep School provided swimming costumes for young children to learn to swim at their local Haveli which was set up by some family friends. Oliver is looking to organise a charity event at Millfield in aid of the New Delhi school and in memory of a friend who sadly passed away. Oliver's Award prize will be donated to the charity.
International Education Round-up
Vaccine rollout makes UK a more attractive study location
The United Kingdom’s successful rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is making the country more attractive to international students, according to new global research.Nearly one in five (17%) prospective international students interested in studying in the UK think it is the best country in the world in terms of distributing the vaccine to its population.
www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210426133819563
International students at top universities withhold fees
Hundreds of international students at three major London universities are refusing to pay their fees because they say learning mostly in their bedrooms has not justified prices of up to £29,000 a year (US$40,000), writes Anna Fazackerley for The Guardian. More than 300 students at the Royal College of Art, two-thirds of them from abroad, launched a tuition fee strike in January, the Guardian has learned, potentially withholding around £3.4 million in fee payments, in an attempt to force the university to issue refunds for the past year.... a strike is also under way at Goldsmiths, University of London.”
www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210320114706745
UK: Thousands of international students had hardship fund applications rejected
The PIE sent out a series of freedom of information requests to universities asking for data around the number of applications made by international students for hardship funds...The data they provided showed that there were more than 13,800 applications made by international students between March 2020 and January 2021. Across all the universities, there was an average rejection rate of 26%. Two universities said that international students had no access to hardship funds at all. ‘The fact that over a quarter of international students who are seeking hardship funds are rejected suggests that there is a problem with the process, whether this be insufficient support available or more of a procedural issue,’ Rachel Hewitt, director of policy and advocacy at the Higher Education Policy Institute, told The PIE.
View the full article from The PIE News
Post-qualification applications plan ‘unworkable’, University Vice-Chancellors warn...
The Westminster government’s proposal for students to apply to English universities once they have received their exam results is “unworkable” and would cause enormous problems for pupils, schools and universities, vice-chancellors have warned.
...Specifically, a move to post-qualification applications – in which students apply to higher education after receiving their exam results – would represent an “unmanageable overhaul to admissions timetabling, creating an unacceptably small window during which applications, offers and confirmation must be undertaken which would not result in an improved outcome for students”, it says.
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/post-qualification-applications-plan-unworkable-v-cs-warn
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