Artway UK specialises in mentoring international visual arts, design, media and architecture students to take the next steps towards creative arts higher education in the UK.

Students will be supported by a pool of experienced freelance tutors who will provide tailored plans, preparing students to succeed at degree and postgraduate degree level study.

Wendy Pye, founder and director of Artway UK, launched the business as she felt that foundation preparation courses available for international students were not financially accessible or adequately tailored to manage differences in abilities and levels of English.

“I thought all the help prospective students need to apply to UK university and support preparing them for the transition into the higher education system in the UK could be done online, with bespoke 1-1 tutored lesson plans suited for their specific needs,” she said.

Although international students must pass an IELTS exam to progress on to a UK degree course, Pye believes that this is not enough to fully prepare them to communicate about their subject.

“Students from non-native English speaking countries are often not prepared for subject specific language as well as use to the range of accents and  attitudes associated with Britain,” she said.

“They are also not aware of the different study skills required for art, design or media courses, which can have a big impact on their confidence to fully thrive.”

According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, 41,195 students from outside of the UK were enrolled in design, creative and performing arts courses within higher education in the UK in 2019-20.

Artway UK is set to enrol its first students this summer, in preparation for the 2022-23 academic year.

Pye was a visual arts tutor at Studygroup Brighton for 12 years and hopes to expand her new venture in the future, launching platforms for other academic subjects, creating projects such as Scienceway and Mathsway.