- Date: February 12, 2024
- Time: 12:30 – 13:30
- Cost: BAISIS members box set – £225, BAISIS member individual session – £55, BSA members box set – £335 BSA member individual session – £75, Member additional attendee – £25, Non-member box set – £670, Non-member individual session – £110
- Audience: All staff, boarding, pastoral, academic, leadership, marketing, admissions.
- Platform: Zoom (online)
Course Outline:
Introducing a new webinar series for BAISIS members designed to promote greater understanding of different international markets for student recruitment. The session will discuss application during the marketing and recruitment stage, induction, and day-to-day care of international students who join our schools.
This five-part series looks at the key markets for international student recruitment in 2024-25:
- China and Hong Kong (Oct)
- Japan, Thailand, Malaysia & South Korea (Nov)
- North and South America (Dec)
- Europe (Jan)
- Africa (Feb)
Each webinar will delve into the cultural sensitivities, language considerations, prospective family wants and marketing suggestions of each market to support members in adapting their marketing and pastoral strategies to maximise results and provision.
Training topics will include:
- Cultural sensitivities, norms and differences from the UK (religion, lifestyle, health, wellbeing, medicine, body language etc)
- Language considerations and communicating with current and prospective parents
- What this market wants from the UK education system
- Maximising marketing
- Promoting best practice in pastoral care provision on recruitment and arrival.
Learning outcomes:
- Greater cultural understanding of the markets you recruit students from
- Increased awareness of what to focus on from a marketing perspective, and how to engage with prospective families
- Understanding how to provide care and support to students from different cultural backgrounds.
Gareth Collier, Director, Dukes College
After graduating from the University of Dundee in Geography, Gareth Collier gained his PGCE at Leeds University. He has taught at some of the largest public schools in the UK in locations as varied as Yorkshire, Scotland, Somerset, and Shropshire undertaking roles such as Head of Department, Senior Teacher Curriculum, Director of Admissions, and Senior Houseparent.
Gareth was previously Acting Head at a British Curriculum school in Kenya and has been Principal at Cardiff Sixth Form College since 2015, where his inspirational leadership has cemented the college’s position as an unparalleled provider of A-level teaching in the UK. A passionate exponent of international education, Gareth and his team are constantly looking to innovate and to look outwards at what is happening in education worldwide to offer the best and most fulfilling educational experience for their students.
Mark Brooks, Mark Brooks Education
Mark Brooks is the founder of Mark Brooks Education, an educational consultancy that has been instrumental in connecting African families with outstanding UK boarding schools. With over 17 years of experience in Nigeria, he has recruited principals for prestigious schools and assisted parents in selecting suitable UK institutions for their children.
In Ghana, Mark Brooks Education organises UK Boarding Schools Week fairs, facilitating interactions between UK school representatives and Ghanaian families.
In South Africa, the consultancy collaborates with educational groups to meet families, schools, and advisors, promoting UK boarding school opportunities.
He has been awarded Export Champion status by the UK’s Department for Business & Trade for the past three years.
Ijeoma Uwakwe-Okoronkwo, Mark Brooks Education Associate
‘Ms Ijay’ was born in Manchester-England to Nigerian parents on 3rd May 1972. She is an experienced educationist, whose career has spanned 25 years.
A graduate of University of Jos – Nigeria with a Bachelors in Education (B.Ed), majoring in English language and Diploma in Mass Communication from the same university; ‘Ms Ijay’ is an enthusiastic and committed teacher and administrator with a natural ability to appreciate and inspire children and teachers. Through years of teaching, Ms Ijay has acquired relevant professional leadership and educational training to get the right concepts within various schools, curriculums and subjects.
Ms Ijay, a member of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria and African Studies Association USA has attended educational trainings, camps and conferences around Africa, United Kingdom and most recently invited as a guest speaker at the State University of Rutgers New Jersey-United States of America. She has used these experiences to further establish ‘Nkuzhi Learning Foundation’ – a non-governmental organisation structured to work with Teachers Professional Development, Leadership Camps for children in Nigeria, United Kingdom and Educational Consulting.
A major concern for her is to bridge the gap between private schools and public schools in her country, as well as support children through her Skills and Leadership Enrichment Programmes.
Her teaching career started as a Supply Teacher in American International School (AISA) on their Maitama site in 1999 after her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) as Batch 1 in the then created Nasarawa State. She was gainfully employed in 2000 at The Regent School Maitama-Abuja as one of their pioneer staff members. She moved on to FAMAKS International School Asokoro-Abuja holding top teaching and leadership position on Management where she rose to Asst Head Teacher.
Ms Ijay established NKUZHI Learning Foundation in 2016. She consults for schools, trains teachers, establishes schools and helps schools get the right accreditations to sit for and conduct the Cambridge Examinations as well as the West African Examination Council (WAEC) examinations. She has established Nkuzhi Tutors- a hub of professional teachers who coach students for national and international examinations as well as advising for admissions for schools in Nigeria and the UK through her partnership with Mark Brooks Education UK. With sponsors and partners in the UK and USA , Ms Ijay has started the pilot project for The Nkuzhi Library Project: establishing 6 reading centres for Early Years and Primary School children in the 6 geo-political zones in Nigeria. Ms Ijay is married and lives in Abuja-Nigeria.
Mark Buckler, Senior Deputy Head Pastoral, St Andrew’s Turi
Claire Scott, Prep Deputy Head Pastoral, St Andrew’s Turi
