We would like to start 2017 with a short review of one of our most successful years recently. 2016 as a fantastic summer for us, and we hope the students, agents and staff all agree.
Firstly, we welcomed a very wide range of nationalities last summer. During 1 week right in the middle of the season we had 15 nationalities. As well as many new students, this also included a lot of returning students. We decided to take most of them on a new excursion on a new destination, so many of our students got to see the ancient city of Bath for a day.
Secondly, we had a record number of returning staff. Yes, many of our teachers and house managers and activity leaders returned to work for us. Indeed, it was also one of the largest teams we have had, and we would like to thank all those involved. Because of our high numbers of student enrolments we ran 25 classes for the start of summer, and by the end of summer we still need so many classes we had to recruit new teachers for our final successful week!
Thirdly, and very importantly, we had a successful British Council (BC) inspection. These do not happen every summer, in fact they only happen every four years. This was our 3rd inspection and it was our longest. We had 2 inspectors visit us over 4 days. Again, we greatly appreciate the input of our diligent staff in keeping our standards so high that the British Council seemed rather impressed.
After summer, quite recently, we received our report. They noted in their Summary Statement that: ‘Strengths were noted in the areas of staff management, student administration, quality assurance, premises and facilities, academic management, course design, care of students, accommodation, leisure opportunities and care of under 18s’.
We were very happy to hear this, and also to receive their feedback on areas that we could improve. We look forward to developing our provision and welcoming them again in 2020.
Furthermore, and finally a perfect way to end 2016, we received an award from one of the industry leading publications. English teaching/learning magazine EL Gazette recognised the number strengths in the BC report. They said on their website: ‘Congratulations to all the new Centres of Excellence who have made it through to the top 20 per cent of schools in the UK, based on their British Council inspection results….. The top-end young learner specialists continue to prosper. The independent schools have two entries: ….The family-run providers continue to shine, with the Barnard family at Manor Courses now leading the pack with 10 points….’ See the article here:
http://www.elgazette.com/features/special-features/443-new-centres-of-excellence.html
