UK ELT sector back to 82 per cent of 2019 levels in Q3

The English UK Quarterly Intelligence Cohort (QUIC) Q3 2023 report is based on the responses of 125 members – around a third of the total membership – who collectively delivered 296,498 student weeks from July to September.

Overall trends: Based on centres that also reported in previous years, overall student weeks were 45 per cent higher than the same quarter last year and recovered to 82 per cent of 2019 levels.

A comparison of student weeks in Q3 of 2019, 2022 and 2023. Graphic source - English UK/Bonard.

The recovery was stronger for the junior segment, which increased by 54 per cent compared to 2022 and reached 86 per cent recovery, compared with the adult weeks which rose by 40 per cent over last year and reached 79 per cent of 2019 levels.

Juniors also accounted for 40 per cent of student weeks in Q3 – an identical ratio to 2019 Q3, English UK said. The third quarter is traditionally when junior volumes are at their highest. Group bookings also accounted for 40 per cent of weeks in 2023 Q3, again identical to 2019 levels.

Jodie Gray , Chief Executive of English UK, said, “This is positive news – it shows UK sector recovery is continuing and we hope that trend continues in 2024. It is also promising that some markets are growing so strongly.

“However, it’s not all good news. Some members have not yet recovered 80 per cent of their pre-pandemic trade so there is still a way to go. Also, recovery is only the first step: what we are working for is growth for our sector.” 

Markets: Italy, traditionally the largest source market for the third quarter, retained its position with 49,028 student weeks, followed by Saudi Arabia (30,561). The top five overall was completed by China, Turkey and Spain.

The top ten markets by student weeks in 2023 Q3. Source - English UK/Bonard.

In terms of absolute growth in student weeks, China had the largest increase (+16,414 weeks), marking the start of a recovery for this key market.

English UK said that some of the markets experiencing the strongest rebound were Latin American countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, as well as Turkey.

In the junior segment, Italy and Spain were the two largest source countries – mirroring typical pre-Covid trends – but they were followed by China, Turkey and Brazil, which all overtook France.

Course type: Looking at programmes, English UK said that there was growth in student weeks for all types of adult courses, and that general English for adults reached 85 per cent of 2019 Q3 levels.

General English accounted for 85 per cent of adult weeks in 2023 Q3, followed by English for Academic Purposes (13 per cent). Business English, English plus courses, one-to-one tuition, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and teacher training all accounted for one per cent or less.

English for Academic Purposes was the strongest-growing course option in the adult segment, compared with the previous year, with a 47 per cent increase in student weeks which English UK said was largely driven by the return of Chinese students.

For junior courses, summer camps were the most popular course option and accounted for 77 per cent of all weeks. Student week volume for summer camps increased by 48 per cent compared with the previous year and reached 88 per cent of 2019 levels.

General English had the largest year-on-year growth in the junior segment at 74 per cent but remained 20 per cent lower than in the summer of 2019. Such programmes accounted for 23 per cent of junior weeks.

Recruitment: Agents remained by far the most predominant recruitment channel and accounted for 79 per cent of all student weeks in this quarter, very slightly lower than the 80 per cent recorded in 2022 and 2019.

Click here to access the Executive Summary of QUIC 2023 Q3, as well as previous quarterly reports.

The Quarterly Intelligence Cohort scheme was launched by English UK in 2017 and is conducted in partnership with research partner Bonard.

English UK, which represents more than 350 British Council-accredited language centres in both the public and private sectors, was inducted into the StudyTravel Super Star Hall of Fame in 2013 after winning the ST Star School Association category for a fifth time.