Education-travel chain Twin Group has won a bid to run English summer schools for Chinese students in the UK. In March, it beat eight schools including Lines, Bell English and Study Group to run “drama-focused” English summer camps for the Guangdong Student Association of Arts and Sports – part of the Education Department of Guangdong Province. The tendering process was run by the British Council.
The two-week camps will cater to around 100 students in UK locations, offering drama-oriented courses with cultural immersion, university tours and sightseeing thrown in; 9-12 year olds and 12-16 year olds may attend.
“Twin has a very good reputation in China so I am confident that we will continue to welcome many students from China, both state backed and through our carefully chosen private agents,” Colin Spicer, director of summer centres at Twin Group, told the PIE.
Twin also has the green light to join the EU’s New Skills & New Jobs project – a 12-month initiative to develop a software programme that helps match job market demand and supply. It will work with partners from Portugal, Turkey, Slovakia and Germany including government organisations, business and a university.
Joe Solomon, business development director, said the company was enjoying expansion more generally. “Sales-wise, we have seen good growth in Latin America and Russia and envisage substantial growth in Turkey this year.”
It has two new representatives in Latin America, he added. It has also relaunched its Career Development Programme in non-EU countries, where students combine study with work experience in the UK.
“Furthermore, we have launched a new work programme for EU students called the Work Preparation Programme,” Solomon said. “This is a one week workshop, where our work experience team give guidance on interview and presentation skills, how to research jobs in London and help update the CV to the UK market.”
