Left to right : Angelina Tse, Lana Foster (with Apple),
James Foster, Eliza Tse
On Thursday 25th October, we were very
lucky to have a visit in Head office from Eliza and Angelina from a new Hong
Kong based International Agency, IEducation & Training group, during their
visit to the UK.
IEducation
& Training group are a small Education Consultancy group, who were
established in Hong Kong in 2003. As well as
representing many prestigious Boarding School’s in Australia, their small ‘word of mouth’ company
is looking to expand their drive of Hong Kong International students to the UK.
After
travelling from the local train station with Managing Director, Lana Foster,
Eliza and Angelina were shown round Bright World’s Head office in Sussex.
Following a brief introduction to the rest of the team, both consultants were
greeted by Director of Admissions,
Sheena Trist along with Admissions Manager, Carol
Gill.
Sheena
began the meeting by explaining that as well as working with over 200 Coed and
same sex Boarding Schools in the UK, we also place students into top College’s
and Universities.
Our
Admissions Director then went on to explain the process of application in
further detail, allowing Angelina and Eliza to understand the initial
requirements.
These
included the Child’s full name, DOB, most recent school report, a general idea
of what it was the child wanted to study as well as any particular
extra-curricular interests. This information therefore allowing the search to
be narrowed significantly.
Sheena
explained the way in which Bright World works alongside partner schools and Universities within the British
Education system and told the Agents' how her 10 years experience had
allowed her to gain excellent relations with the Boarding School registrars,
helping her to get quick, accurate responses to placement enquiries.
After
answering a few questions Sheena passed thing over to University Admissions
Manager, Carol Gill.
Carol
described her role in placing International students into our partner
Universities. Carol explained that in order for the student to begin the next
September, their UCAS application must be submitted in January at the very
latest. With relations improving rapidly at our partner Universities Carol
expressed that this was a growth area for Bright World, but one that would
become a great focus, as we move into next year.
Left, Sheena Trist (Director of Admissions) right, Carol Gill (Admissions Manager)
After a
short tea break Eliza and Angelina were shown the Admissions department as the
Guardianship team prepared in the meeting room.
Making
their way back downstairs, they were greeted by Guardianship Care Manager, Cory Holden
and Sales & Marketing Manager, Charlotte Hamson. Charlotte began by explaining that Bright
World Guardianships was the sister company to Bright World Education and that
both had been running since the year 2000, when both organisations were founded
by Managing Director, Lana Foster.
Charlotte ( Photographed above) went on
to describe Bright World as one of the few UK Guardianship organisations to
have gained AEGIS
accreditation.
AEGIS
(Association for the Education and Guardianship of International Students) are
responsible for the auditing and inspection of organisations in the UK and ensure
that all checks are carried out in accordance with current child care
legislation. The safeguarding
and protection of children is something Bright World takes particularly
seriously. In order to develop and tighten restrictions further Managing Director
Lana Foster and Director of Guardianships, Fiona Walters began working
alongside ‘Childsafe’ earlier this year.
‘Childsafe’ are a charity devoted to the welfare of international students
studying abroad and away from the care of their parents.
After
briefly discussing Bright World’s mission statement, Charlotte passed things over to Cory Holden,
who gave a short summary of the Guardianship department.
Cory
explained that Education Guardianship is a legal requirement for International
Students choosing to study in the UK and away from their parents
care.
Guardianship team. Back row
left to right: Claire Ferris, Cory Holden, James Foster (Director), Lana
Foster (MD) Front row left to right: Michelle Ingleton,
Tammy Lindsay, Carol Stevenson, Fiona Walters (Director of Guardianships)
Cory,
pictured above with the rest of the Guardianship team, described Bright World
as a ‘centrally controlled’ company which relied greatly on a seamless Head
office Guardianship team and a network of Local Coordinators and Host Families throughout the UK.
In
order to highlight the journey of a Bright World Guardianship student, Cory and
Charlotte introduced IEducation to the Bright World Game. Using Taxi boards,
paper money and ‘what if’ cards as props, Cory was able to show Eliza and
Angelina Bright World’s extensive service, which ensures International students
are cared for and protected during their time in the UK. The Bright World game gave
assurance that the Guardianship team are prepared for any obstacle or event
that comes along.
After completing the game Eliza and Angelina said their goodbyes and headed out
to lunch with Managing Director Lana Foster with a new insight into the
interworking of Bright World.
We
hope to give the same experience to other prospective Agents who are unsure of
the crucial role played by Bright World and other similar UK organisations who care for and guide
International students all the way through their UK education.
