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English plus sports
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Language schools in the UK offer a range of English plus sports courses in order to attract new students and maintain an up-to-date course menu.
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English plus sports courses are a popular option for language schools wanting to keep their course options fresh and exciting. A number of options exist in the UK, ranging from surfing in Bournemouth to golf in Scotland.
Suzanne Grossman from Regent Edinburgh says that their English plus golf courses mean that they get to work with a range of different agencies from around the world. “We do not get many enquiries [for these courses] but have a high conversion rate of those we do get,” she says. “We work with agencies from all over the world and some agencies focus completely on this type of course – particularly in Spain. We are lucky also that Scotland is world famous for golf.”
In Devon, an area that relies heavily on the summer tourism market, Richard Hammer from West Devon English Language School in Tavistock says that English plus sports courses add extra interest to their general language courses. “These courses are important to us in the summer in that they offer an extra activity for students to take part in,” he says.
David Jones from ETC International College in Bournemouth observes that their English plus sports courses, which include surfing and motorsports, attract a distinct client base. “The courses seem to be most popular among our executive clients – all nationalities – and our adult Eastern European – Russian, Belorussian, Ukrainian – students and Far Eastern – Japanese, Taiwanese – students, although we have received bookings from a wide range of other nationalities,” he says.
Jones adds that while English plus sports courses account for a small percentage of total student weeks at the school, running the courses adds “something a little different to our offering”. He relates, “As far as we know, we are the only school able to offer English plus motorsports at the moment. Having a unique course available certainly helps us stand out from the crowd. We find that students are more likely to book a course with us if they think that we will be able to help them enjoy one of their existing hobbies or sample something for the first time.”
Most students enrol on a language plus sports course to brush up on or try a new hobby but the summer courses on offer at Millfield School in Street cater for students with more serious aspirations for their sporting skills. “The latest course we introduced was Academy Tetrathlon,” says Karen Page at the school, “which evolved from the very successful Modern Pentathlon World Championship held at Millfield in 2001. Our resident coach wanted to open up the 50m swimming pool, shooting range, running track and fencing sale to students on the Millfield English language holiday courses and give them the chance to experience top facilities and coaching in this multi-disciplined sport.”
Having the facilities to offer new and interesting sports courses, either on site or nearby, is definitely a bonus for schools when it comes to broadening course offerings. Jones says that their English plus surfing course “ties in nicely with the launch of Bournemouth’s artificial surf reef – the only such surf reef in Europe – and the popularity of surfing around the Bournemouth and Boscombe piers.”
When it comes to adding new courses, Grossman says that they are always looking to respond to market demand. “We are looking into offering English plus rugby courses but have nothing concrete as yet as we still have to speak to a large number of the local clubs,” she says. “This is due to demand from Spain in particular but also other European countries. Any other changes would also be a response to demand or pursuing a gap in the market.”
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Contact any advertiser in the this issue now
The following language schools, associations and accommodation providers advertised in the latest edition of Language Travel Magazine. If you would like more information on any of these advertisers, tick the relevant boxes, fill out your details and send.
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