Exports Minister Graham Stuart has written an open letter to international ELT students, welcoming them back to UK classrooms and recognising English UK and its members work on focussing on student safety and latest government guidance. 

The UK welcomed 1% more students last year than in 2018, continuing from the market rebound of 2017.

The proportion of juniors rose to 54% of the total, and a quarter of all weeks were spent in London. Central England saw a 21% spike in student weeks, while Northern England was the best performer, with student weeks rising to 25,877, a rise of 9%.

The extent of the financial hit to UK ELT has been calculated for the first time in research done by English UK among its member centres.

The research, carried out by Bonard in June, shows a £257m loss among the 145 participating centres. Extrapolating that figure to the entire membership equates to a loss of more than half a billion pounds for the first three quarters of 2020.

We are bringing all our lobbying efforts together with the publication of Teaching English to the world: how the government can help kickstart UK ELT after Covid-19, our policy position paper outlining 14 steps which would help the industry to survive, compete and thrive.

In December, the short-term study visa (STSV) route will close and anyone who wants to study here for six months or less can enter on a standard visitor visa.

The Erasmus+ UK National Agency have confirmed to us that from autumn/winter 2020, beneficiary organisations will be encouraged to offer blended programmes with a period of online learning preceding the face-to-face phase. Find out how the funding will work...

Covid-19's effect on UK ELT was discussed in a short but moving debate in Parliament this week, as MPs warmly praised the industry and asked the Government to extend the support it is providing.