Last week myself and our Sales and Marketing Manager, Charlotte Hamson travelled down to Bournemouth with Cristina Tejero, Kings UK Regional Manager
and Andrew Hutchinson, Director of Kings colleges. The purpose of our visit was
twofold. Firstly Charlotte wanted to see for herself the facilities at the
College, meet the staff and talk to the Summer School organisers so that she is
better geared up to talk to parents and partners about the programmes and the
general feel of the college. Secondly, I wanted to find our more about the
cooperation that we are embarking on with Kings – an exciting collaboration
that will mean we will be helping some of the high flying young GCSE learners at Kings to find places
in top UK boarding schools.
Bright World has already cooperated with Kings and feature in their
International High School programme, as do a selection of our close partner
schools who expressed an interest in the venture. This will culminate in
October or November this year in a mini-exhibition and education day for the
GCSE students where the schools will attend and be available to interview and
maybe even test the students for entry in September 2015.
The four of us had great fun on the train, catching up and chatting
about the Bright World’s ever-growing guardianship team whilst also discussing Kings Colleges
and how they have developed and grown over the past few years. Kings offer
a vast range of programmes for International students, including English,
GCSE’s, A level, foundation and even Summer School. Andrew and I have worked
together for over 20 years and we worked out that together we have more than 50
years’ experience in sales and marketing of educational programmes!
Upon arrival we were greeted by Dermot Tobin the Principal of the
college who welcomed us warmly and took them to meet all of the administration
staff. I remembered Dermot’s name from when he was Principal of a school
in Brighton – 25 years ago – clearly this
gentleman has a lot of experience in being an academic leader and running a
school.
We were then told that we would be sitting in on an academic
lesson. I thought this would be useful for Charlotte but actually didn’t think I needed
to see this – not with all the experience I have after all....... I think
saw on our itinerary that we would be visiting a host family – again – why on
earth would I need to see a British host family? How many host families
have I seen in my life? Hundreds.......
I went along with the itinerary of course and I am so pleased that I
did. Justin was the IT teacher we observed first of all. I thought
20 minutes was too long but the young lady who was leading the tour literally
had to drag Charlotte and me away from the lesson – I wanted to stay ALL
Day! I wanted to be a student at Kings Colleges. It is rare to see
a teacher with so much enthusiasm and not just technical knowledge but an
awareness of why you would need technology in the workplace. I felt
hungry for more knowledge....... Justin inspired me – his years of teaching
experience were clear.
The host family visit was also an eye opener. I have never visited
a family in Bournemouth before. The houses are
really big, spacious and the streets are wide and everything seems so
clean. Everyone I met was so friendly. The host family was fantastic
and very experienced, seeming to understand the importance of allowing students
to be themselves while in the house – either outgoing and joining in with the
family or maybe quiet and studious and wanting to spend more time in their
room. This is a great quality and one usually only gained from
experience.
So the buildings were great – the students all looked happy, the staff
were friendly and enthusiastic, the day was beautifully organised, the accommodation
first class and the food – incredible! Our experience at Kings was fantastic as
is, I imagine, the students’ experience.
I realise I have used the word Experience a lot in this blog – but to be
honest I don’t care – because experience is what it is all about.
Lana Foster
Managing Director,
Bright World Education & Guardianships
For further information, or if
you are interested in learning more about placement and uk guardianship, please get in touch with
Sales & Marketing Manager, Charlotte Hamson charlotte@brightworld.co.uk,
call 01273 835745 or visit our website. www.brightworld.co.uk
