New College Group has rebranded from its former name of New College Manchester and announced a new school site in Liverpool to complement its Manchester school. A focus on tech-linked learning and courting the corporate market will ensure the ELT company stands out in the marketplace, it says.
Its original school in Manchester has also moved into brand new premises in the heart of the city.
According to NCG’s Lesinda Leightley, Director of Sales & Marketing, “Huge investment has been made in the facilities of both schools making it more spacious and technologically adept [given the] changing face of education.”
All of the classrooms throughout both schools now have interactive whiteboards, and each school is equipped with an IT suite, learning resource centre, games room and Samsung tablets on the walls.
Leightley acknowledged that the English language teaching market is changing, as many ELT operators spoke of a squeeze on business earlier this year.
“Only teaching English isn’t enough anymore,” she told The PIE News. “We are now working on accrediting courses to give an accredited certificate or diploma at the end of the course, which students can use with confidence anywhere in the world.”
She added, “We are also implementing new teaching technology that doesn’t currently exist, interactive technical games, in what we call the Techno Hub; team-oriented programmes building social and language skills.”
A focus on the corporate market is another way that NCG “dares to be different”, Leightley said. “Corporate is a definite growth area for us, we are investing a lot of time and effort into the concept.”