What’s more exciting than meeting friends and colleagues from around the world?
When you work in the world of international education, it’s essential to stay in touch with colleagues from around the world in order keep up to date with the latest trends and developments.
This month, More Than English founders, David Meddows and Claire Norwood were in Berlin taking part in the world’s biggest education conference: ICEF Berlin (October 30 – November 01 2022).
As well as learning about developments in education and market trends, this annual event is an opportunity for universities, colleges and summer school providers such as More Than English to meet the education agencies who promote and sell international education, and find the best way of working together.
35 meetings. 21 nationalities.
Over just two days, Claire and David had 35 meetings with the representatives and directors of education agencies from Ukraine, Spain, Georgia, Romania, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, Italy, Cyprus, UK, France, Portugal, Egypt, Malta, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Lebanon, Qatar and India,
In total, the event involved 2,460 friends and colleagues from 114 countries.
Challenges for Generation Z
Takeaways
Here are some of the most important things we learnt:
Education agencies are more and more preferring to work with smaller education providers that can provide consistently high standard and personalised education services even in the most challenging international conditions.
Attention is power
Generation Z have arrived in education institutions and they have different needs to Millennials. Before the tech era arrived we used to say “knowledge is power”. With the arrival of the AI, data harvesting and the smartphone, the mantra changed to “information is power.” These days, with so much knowledge and data available with the swipe of a finger, overload and distraction have brought us to a new world where “attention is power.” Helping students develop this key skill is important for education institutions.
Our final takeaway is that the best pretzels are in Germany.
Pretzels in Hamburg
Students!! If you get an invitation from German More Than English students to visit Berlin, Hamburg, Munich or anywhere else in Germany, say "yes!"
Ukrainian teenagers have attended More Than English international summer school every year since the school started in 2015. Now, is their hour of need. We have been requested by families in the Ukraine fleeing the war to help them find safe accommodation and school places. More Than English, based in Ludlow, Shropshire, can connect British families seeking to offer accommodation to Ukrainians as part of the UK government's Homes For Ukraine Scheme.
Volodomyr, from Ukraine – MTE alumnus
UK government Homes for Ukraine Scheme
The UK government has launched the Homes For Ukraine scheme. British people, with spare rooms, empty houses or second homes, can sponsor Ukrainians to come to the UK through a simplified visa process.
Our partner school Moor Park, is already in the process of enrolling six Ukrainian students and Ludlow High School is in the process of enrolling one child from Donestk.
The challenge
The problem is that most British people do not know the contact details of any refugees fleeing from the Ukraine, which means they cannot sponsor them.
The solution
More Than English has started to create a database of Ukrainians seeking refuge in the UK. Most are mothers fleeing the war with their children. Some are adults. In addition, several teenagers travelling alone without parents have also contacted us and we will try to place them directly in UK boarding schools.
Marta and Victoria from Ukraine – MTE alumni
How can I get details of Ukrainians seeking refuge in the UK?
If you live anywhere in the UK (but especially in Shropshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire within a 30 mile radius of Tenbury Wells and Ludlow) and would like to provide accommodation for a Ukrainian family under the UK government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme, please provide details of the accommodation you are willing to provide using the form at this link, so that we can match you to the families or individuals that you can help.
Want to help more?
More Than English is looking for volunteers to help us coordinate matching Ukrainians to offers of accommodation. Please call David or Claire if you would like to help: 01584 812562.
Yes! If your child is interested in summer school 2022, you can reserve a place with no risk. This is because More Than English offers a full refund for any reason until April 30 2022.
Limited spaces for each nationality.
More Than English offers the most personalised summer school experience in the UK. As part of this, we have very strict limits on the number of students from each country.
Still want to book later?
If you want to book later, please email us to register your interest so that we can let you know when spaces for your nationality are almost fully booked.
Want more information?
For more information, please download this summary of our programme or for detailed information, download our brochure.
You can also book a personal consulation with school owners David and Claire. And, YES! Of course we are available to speak with you at weekends.
Can summer schools be green? The short answer is “yes, there are things we can do”. At More Than English we believe in the power of organisations and governments, but most of all of individuals, to tackle the climate crisis. Here is what you could do and what we are doing to make our organisation more sustainable:
Partnership with Ecologi
More Than English has set up a partnership with Ecologi, which is an organisation whose mission is to empower individual people and businesses to tackle the climate crisis.
In additional to practical measures connected to the opeartion of the school, we are also working to tackle the climate crisis at a deeper level.
Building a green culture @ More Than English:
By communicating our green values to staff, and empowering them to be part of policy making, we attract staff who share the same commitment to sustainability and who want to work with us to put green considerations at the heart of how we operate the organisation.
Education:
Tackling the biodiversity and climate crises starts with education. Here is how we are developing solutions through education.
By giving students, as part of their courses, the opportunity to use their Critical and Creative Thinking skills to explore the issues, evaluate solutions and allocate More Than English funds (£) to their chosen Climate Crisis solutions, we empower students to become part of the solution. Students also supercharge the impact of their work by sharing their knowledge with other students.
By giving students opportunities to connect with nature on our spectacular 20-hectare campus in the English countryside, we help students experience the health benefits of being in nature and promote positive attitudes towards the environment.
By communicating More Than English’s progress towards sustainability through our social media channels and celebrating events such as The Earthshot Prize, Zero Emissions Day, Earth Day and International Day of Climate Action we continue raising awareness about climate change so that young people can themselves become agents of change.
Change starts with beliefs, understanding and attitudes: in other words, with education.
David Meddows – Co-founder of More Than English
Transport:
In addition to offsetting carbon emissions from staff flights through our partnership with Ecologi, we are reducing emissions associated with travel by:
Have you considered partnering your business with Ecologi?Reducing staff airmiles:
By careful selection and planning of our attendance at international education events, so that, for example, we travel to Germany, once every two years and not twice in one year.
By attending virtual and hybrid education events in order to reduce the number of international face to face events.
Staff pensions:
“The goal of net zero is the greatest commercial opportunity of our time.”
Mark Carney (former Governor of the Bank of England and UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance).
That is to say, in the near future, companies that create solutions to climate change will receive more investment and will generate more profit than those that do not. More Than English plans to help accelerate this change in global finance by reviewing staff pensions to ensure that investments are only with funds that do not invest in fossil fuels.
Summary:
We are full of hope and believe that together we can and will restore biodiversity and reverse climate change. Responsibility for solving the problem lies not only with governments and businesses, but with individuals.
What we know is that small choices and actions made by individuals as consumers, voters, employees and citizens add up to big changes. Now every family can offset their carbon emissions with Ecologi.
When it comes to climate change, open, honest conversations are essential. We have not arrived at net zero,. However, can we make a big difference now? Absolutely: yes, we can. We must all take action and More Than English is taking action now.
‘We don’t have much time’
Elliott Coad – Co-founder of Ecologi
What can you do?
Parents and agents: we ask you to please click on this link and start a partnership with Ecologi to offset the carbon emissions of your family, business or organisation and together we will tackle climate change.
We know that the last two years have been very difficult for every family including your family. However, we hope that you share our determination and optimism that together we can build back better. We present to you some new courses for 2022 designed to empower the teenagers of today to lead their best future lives, and together, meet the challenges of tomorrow:
Course Structure
Every week:
Subjects: 15 hours
Specialisms: 12 hours
Social 20+ hours
Summary of new courses:
Subject: Business & Entrepreneurship
Subjects:
NEW! Subject: Business & Entrepreneurship
We are introducing Business & Entrepreneurship as a Subject for students aged 13-15 with B2 to C2.
Students 15-17 years old with B2 to C2 develop their leadership skills taking on a new challenge each week from the areas of politics, society, international relations and the media.
The team at More Than English feel very privileged to have the opportunity to work with, motivate and inspire teenagers from around the world. We can't wait to bring the world together again in July and August 2022.
Christmas puddings – delivered ?Guests? – arriving? ??Fruit – prepared ?Servants – missing ?Cleaning – ta-dah! ?Weather – as you would expect ?Christmas Tree – splendid ?Shopping in Ludlow – done ?
???
So Indeed we are ready and it is time to wish you Merry Christmas from our family to your family.
David and Claire
Photos taken in Ludlow & during our Christmas visit to nearby Berrington Hall, which is one of many historic buildings preserved by the National Trust. These buildings used to be the great houses of aristocrats and wealthy industrialists whose every need was taken care of by huge teams of servants. Today, everyone can visit National Trust properties and experience life as a Queen/King for a day.
The only thing missing is the servants, which means that these days we get to spend Christmas at home with our families!
However, do not fear! Servants will be back in time for Summer School 2022.
Chief Servants Claire & David – More Than English summer school @ Moor Park, Ludlow
We are very sorry: we have taken the very difficult decision to cancel summer school 2021.
If you have a booking, please complete the form at the end of this article.
We are very, very sorry to disappoint the students who were so much looking forward to connecting with other teenagers from all over the world this summer.
Some of the many factors behind our decision to cancel summer school:
Certainty for parents:
We want to give parents certainty as far as possible in advance so that they can make alternative plans.
Quality control:
We want to give students the full More Than English experience and this will be difficult to deliver in an operating environment full of uncertainty
Lack of countries now predicted to reach green category status:
Although most of Europe is expected to reach 40% vaccination of the adult population (at least one dose) by early to mid-June, which is important for a country to be classified as green in the UK’s travel system, it seems that one of the other important criteria, namely a high level of biometric testing for variants, will not be widely reached and therefore most European countries could remain amber (yellow).
New variants:
Concerns over the new variant B.1.617.2 is causing governments including the UK government to change international travel policies at short notice.
Thank you parents and partners
We would like to thank all the parents and partners who, despite all the uncertainty, booked places for their children at More Than English this summer. We really appreciate what you did.
Protection > from Personal Accident & Travel Insurance
(included for every student)
More Than English has organised for every student a very special insurance policy that includes:
Medical: Covid-19 medical insurance (included)
Medical: Covid-19 Supplementary Travel and Accommodation Expenses insurance (included)
Also included: volcanic ash clouds, zero excess, valuables – “naturally 0021″
Certainty in an uncertain world
Vaccines have the power to dramatically change the Covid-19 situation in a relatively short amount of time. There is uncertainty, and that is why we are taking every care to protect the financial investment of every parent. We remain, however, hopeful that the magic of summer school will be possible this year.
What next?
Ask a question
Request a Zoom meeting
Request a copy of the Travel Insurance policy
Read how More Than English refunded parents last year
Silver lining – something good that comes from something bad.
They say that “every cloud has a silver lining.“
Right now, that might seem hard to believe:
Covid-19 infection rates are increasing around the world.
Families are facing the unbearable loss of loved ones.
Economic problems are pushing many families into financial distress.
Lessons from a crisis
We are all living under a big cloud. Is there a silver lining to this crisis? Maybe yes. Maybe this is our chance to learn some important lessons.
Lesson 1: Valuing each other
“Unsung hero” – somebody who helps other people, but who does not receive recognition
How do you measure the value of somebody’s work?
Doctors, nurses, paramedics: of course they are all heroes in this crisis. However, the pandemic also ‘shone a light’ on the unsung heroes: the cleaners, the delivery drivers, the supermarket staff and many more people who put themselves in danger in order to keep us safe.
Learning to value each other more is surely a silver lining of this crisis. To all the heroes and the unsung heroes we say “thank you”.
Lesson 2: Renewed focus on climate change
At the end of 2019, very few people could have predicted that in the first weeks of 2020 our comfortable lives would be turned upside down by a submicroscopic agent.
In 2021, we felt the power of nature. We received a reminder that the human race is inescapably part of the natural world.
The pandemic has focused the minds of governments, citizens and businesses by sending an urgent and clear message that we must work together now to halt climate change.
Lesson 3: The power of collaboration across borders
An incredible European team of scientists made us ask: is there anything we can’t achieve when we work together?
Developed in under one year by a Turkish-German couple in Germany.
Manufactured by an American company in Belgium.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is a miracle of European & American collaboration. To this team, and to vaccine developers everywhere, we say: “thank you”.
Summer School 2021
Would it be true to say that there is little value in learning ‘life lessons’ unless you apply the lessons? How is More Than English applying the lessons of the pandemic?
Bringing children and teenagers from all over the world to summer school so that they learn to live, learn and work together has never been so important. Teaching children and teenagers how to work in international teams is how we start to solve the challenges of tomorrow, today. However, returning to “business as usual” is not an option. We have to change.
Here’s how More Than English is learning the lessons of Covid-19:
(1) Increased focus on developing the leaders of tomorrow
NEW! Academic Enrichment
Future Leaders
We are now offering a Future Leaders course in the mornings (this course also includes a diverse range of study options in the afternoons). Topics covered on the Future Leaders programme include politics, Model United Nations, journalism and more. Students work collaboratively to research, analyse, prioritise and get the job done. At the end of each week they present a final product: a plan, a document, a presentation, a speech.
Students choosing the Future Leaders course also benefit from a full range of afternoon study options.
(2) Science & Technology
NEW! Academic Enrichment
STEM Robotics
Science is providing a way out of the pandemic. New for this year we are offering a STEM Robotics course.
STEM Robotics
Students choosing the STEM Robotics course also benefit from a full range of afternoon study options.
Coding and Virtual Reality
NEW! With new afternoon study options in Coding and Virtual Reality, students can also study Science & Technology in the afternoon.
(3) A greener summer school
Summer school has a negative impact on the environment. By introducing reusable water bottles in 2019 we dramatically reduced our plastic waste.
Reducing the plastic waste created by summer school
This year, we want to do better.
(i) Carbon Offsetting:
New for 2021! We are researching how to most effectively offset carbon emissions from students’ flights
ii) Social Entrepreneurship:
NEW! Students choosing our new Social Entrepreneurship afternoon study option, will learn about the 17 United Nations sustainable development goals which are designed to fight poverty and inequality and tackle climate change by 2030. As part of a project, they will then persuade other students to be part of the change we need.
We are living through a time of big change. With damage to economies and heartbreak for families, Covid-19 is playing havoc with all our lives. However, the power to shape and change the future is in our hands. If we choose to take this opportunity, we can make sure that the 2020s are remembered not only as a time of global crisis, but as the decade during which we learnt to value each and secure a living planet for future generations.
While we are in the process of updating the brochure, please check out the website for all the up-to-date details about summer school 2021. Or, check out the information below, which provides a summary of what’s new for 2021:
If you have B2 English or above you can now do one of our Academic Enrichment programmes in the mornings. You can choose from the following subjects:
Advanced English
STEM Robotics
Future Leaders
Of course, we are still offering English Foundation for students with A2-B1.
NEW! Specialisms
We have changed the name of our afternoon study options to ‘Specialisms’ and we have divided them into 3 groups SPORT; ACTIVE; ACADEMIC. New for 2021 we are adding to the selection:
Active:
Coding
Virtual Reality
Social Entrepreneurship
Academic:
English Literature
IELTS – intro.
Of course, are still offering all the favourite options including Dance, Film Making, Business Challenge a wide range of Professional Sports options and much more.
NEW! Heathrow Airport transfers included
Birmingham Airport transfers are still included in the package price.
New for 2021: we are including Heathrow Airport transfers in the package price also.
Book with confidence
A team you can trust
In 2020, because of Covid-19, we gave parents the choice of postponing their child’s summer school place until 2021 or receiving a full refund of all deposits and fees paid.
The good news is that countries around the world are getting better at treating Covid-19. Schools all around the world are finding ways to teach children safely reducing the risk of infection. Moreover, from December 2020, people in countries around Europe and beyond are already starting to receive the new Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. However, despite all of this good news, we understand that parents still feel that there is uncertainty. For example, nobody knows exactly how quickly governments can “roll out” (deliver) the vaccine to the whole population. That is why we are still offering you our special guarantee so that you can book with confidence:
A full refund for any reason until 20 May 2021
We are pleased to tell you that More Than English will offer a full refund of all deposits and fees paid for whatever reason until 20 May 2021 (read more in our Terms and Conditions 2021)
This means that if you are interested in summer school, there is no need to wait. Book your child’s summer school today – with confidence.
International Summer School
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