UK ELT reports “new normal” with softer student numbers for key third quarter

The UK’s English-language teaching sector (ELT) may have reached peak business volume in 2019, five years ago. This past summer, student weeks reached 75% of what they were in 2019, down from 81% in the first half of the year, according to the QUIC Q3 2024 report informed by data from 126 English UK member centres.

English UK’s chief executive, Jodie Gray, believes this level of business may reflect new seasonal norms following the pandemic: “We are considering 2023/2024 as the new normal with figures unlikely to return to pre-pandemic highs or trends.” Ms Gray expects end-of-year 2024 numbers to be about the same as 2023.

Both Junior and Adult sub-sectors were down in summer 2024 versus summer 2023, by 10% and 9%, respectively. The Junior segment now makes up almost half of student weeks, which is the highest ratio – relative to Adult weeks – in the global ELT industry.

A smaller overall share of students means more competition

The context for English-language teaching has changed greatly since before the pandemic – and not only for the UK. International students have more access to English-language tutoring and online courses in their own countries, and it has become more difficult for many to travel abroad for education due to costs and visa restrictions in major destinations.

From a policy perspective, the UK is relatively more welcoming to international students in 2024 than competitor destinations Australia and Canada. Ms Gray plans to release a new economic impact assessment for an objective measure of how much the ELT sector contributes to the UK economy:

“We will launch this and our new position paper in Parliament at our 2025 Parliamentary Reception with government officials, media representatives and industry stakeholders. The government can make a huge difference to our success, as recent clampdowns in competitor markets have demonstrated.”

Ms Gray says a change in immigration settings could make a huge difference to the health of the sector, such as “a youth mobility scheme for the whole of the EU and other nations globally … [that] would be a game-changer.”

Top sending markets

Nearly a quarter of all student weeks are accounted for by the top 10 markets for UK ELT providers, and the top five sending countries are Saudi Arabia, China, Türkiye, and Brazil. Türkiye was up the most of all top sending countries over summer 2023, with 3,280 more weeks, while Italy contributed 7,610 fewer weeks.

For additional background, please see:

• “Report reveals continued recovery for ELT sector in 2023 but also policy headwinds in 2024”