Greenwich International Education earns provisional British Council accreditation

Established in 2020, the juniors and high school program specialist also offers a range of online classes.

The provisional accreditation is the “standard that all language schools aspire to”, the provider noted, adding that it will give students, partners and clients confidence to choose GIE.

“GIE has become one of the first new education businesses to achieve provisional British Council accreditation and we are very proud to have done so after only one year of operation, particularly during a pandemic which has greatly limited language school operations,” said academic director Andy Cossey.

The provisional accreditation will give “the assurance that our programs are professionally run and of a high quality, along with a major focus on the welfare of students”, GIE added.

It is hoping to gain full accreditation in the summer 2022 when the British Council carries out the second part of its inspection.

“We are delighted to have achieved provisional accreditation and are looking forward to welcoming the British Council to our summer camps in 2022 so that we can take the final steps to gaining full accreditation,” managing director, Peter Shannon, added.

GIE also offers high school programs in Ireland, across Europe (Germany, Austria, Scandinavia) and US for the F1 program.

The new study travel player noted that although it is hopeful for a good return following the Covid ELT downturn, the recovery of the sector may take some time.

“The expectations in the industry are that 2022 will be somewhere between 60-80% of 2019”

“The expectations in the industry are that 2022 will be somewhere between 60-80% of 2019. We hope that government programs like Tempus in Hungary and the INPS program from Italy will be back to full capacity in 2023,” Global Sales director Callum Palmer told The PIE.

The Hungarian government earlier this year confirmed its program would be delayed to 2023.

GIE’s online and hybrid courses will help the provider to be adaptable as society “learns to live” with Covid, Palmer continued.

“Some key goals for expansion this year and next include: developing our ministay operation in the UK and US; adding a further central London junior campus destination; as well as a west coast USA campus for juniors,” he added.

“Continuing to develop the high school programs within the UK, adding more partner schools and giving students a greater coverage of the UK to experience.”