Bowling, pies, karaoke and Pimms were the winning combination for a fantastic event attended by around a third of StudyWorld London's guests.

Educators, agents and English UK's corporate members mingled happily at the Brit Pop 'n' Bowl Party at the iconic Bloomsbury Lanes venue in central London, with 144 of them taking part in a bowling competition.

"We wanted to do something different, and create a fun social event which would bring together our members and agents for a great evening, and also get them to experience the kind of social event which international students enjoy while they're here," explained Roz Rozidor, English UK's international manager, who organised the event with corporate member Lost in London. "It's been fantastic."

English UK intend to make this an annual event, with ambitious plans to make tickets available to all StudyWorld delegates in 2013.

"This place is a great find, and it's been a good evening. We've had an amazing time," said corporate member David Wood of Endsleigh Insurance, a member of victorious bowling team The Unbowlievables. Most of the 24 teams were put together by English UK, creating excellent opportunities for members and agents to meet each other.

Agent Jos van Kerkhol from Study Travel in the Netherlands, a member of the Beer Goggles team, was also enjoying himself: "It's a very nice evening, very interesting, and it's very nice to be doing something. Sometimes you only stand around drinking, here we are in a competition with our team and following what's going on. It's professional and social." Team-mate Andrew Edwards of LSI in Portsmouth agreed. "It's been fantastic, fabulous. It's given us a bit of focus. We've got to know new people through the team. Our team was about the bowling... and the beer."

Paul Delaney of EAC was also enjoying the entertainment, which included a soundtrack of English music and performances from London band The Shoestrung, and liked the format of the night. "It's great to be mixing with people in this informal way, and much better to all be doing something." Judith Hands of TIS thought it was a brilliant idea to experience some of the events that students enjoy. "It's much better than a stuffy reception," she said.

Phil Hopkins of ELC in Brighton commented: "An agent said all these receptions you go to are about food and drink and it's good to do something different and get involved in it. We enjoyed it. It's good to do something different, and participatory."

Just under 300 StudyWorld delegates attended the evening, which included a pie and mash supper, British pop music and a live band as well as the bowling competition and two very popular karaoke rooms.

The wooden spoon for lowest team score went to Bowling for Gold, whilst the top three were The Unbowlievables, The Strike Club and The Incredibowls.

Notes to Editors

1. English UK is the world's leading language teaching association, with more than 450 accredited centres in membership. It covers university and further education college language departments, international study centres in independent schools, educational trusts and charities, and private sector colleges. English UK is a UK registered charity (www.englishuk.com).
2. StudyWorld London is now in its 43rd year. It ran very successfully in Brighton until moving to its London venue in 2007. For more information, contact Siobhán Baccas on siobhan@englishuk.com or +44 20 7608 7960 (www.studyworldfair.com).
3. For more information on the Brit Pop 'n' Bowl Party please contact Jodie Gray (Senior International Manager, English UK) on jodie@englishuk.com.