“ SCHOOLS THAT SUCCESSFULLY COMBINE GLOBAL EDUCATION WITH LOCAL CULTURAL RELEVANCE MAY BE BETTER POSITIONED FOR LONG-TERM SUCCESS.”
ALEX MCGRATH, OWNER & FOUNDER, CASTLEGATE EDUCATION
regulation of international education. If schools want to find a genuine point of difference, one opportunity is ensuring that the curriculum serves both the local community and the international community at the same time. Schools that successfully combine global education with local cultural relevance may be better positioned for long-term success.”
MIGRATION & NEW EDUCATION MARKETS The world is becoming increasingly globalised and economic and political pressures mean that families are prepared to leave their home countries and relocate abroad if they feel that will be an advantage. A major trend is increased movement of people
within Asia and from other regions into destinations such as Europe and “golden visa” countries like Portugal. This movement often brings new customers and new expectations about education. “This includes large numbers of Chinese families relocating to Thailand for economic reasons,” Alex
says. “There are Russians moving to the Middle East, the Balkans and Greece because of favourable visa schemes. Schools in Greece serving both Russian and Ukrainian families living together peacefully despite geopolitical tensions.” However, Chinese families have increasingly limited
access to international education at school level within China. As a result, many are seeking alternatives abroad, often closer to home than Europe or North America. This is creating opportunities for international schools in countries such as Thailand and Malaysia, which are increasingly attracting Chinese families. “Many Thai families maintain homes in Bangkok specifically so their children can attend international schools,” he says. However, there has been a rapid proliferation of new schools. This raises questions about whether sufficient market analysis has been undertaken. “Some schools may have begun projects several
years ago and continued development without fully recognising how quickly market conditions were changing,” he explains. Japan is currently attracting significant interest from
international school operators. However, the population of children is declining, as in many advanced economies. “Schools need to be careful when assessing the size of
the addressable market,” he says. “A major challenge is that Japanese students cannot access Japanese universities without a Japanese diploma. A school positioning itself solely as a British or IB school is effectively telling Japanese families that the primary pathway leads overseas. This limits the market to families with parents educated abroad, international-Japanese mixed families, and expatriate families working in Japan.”
THE CONTINUING APPEAL OF INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION Alex says many UK schools that previously viewed international expansion as too difficult, expensive or risky are now looking overseas as a source of new revenue. There has been a long-running question about whether
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