The Education UK Partnership provides a range of services for UK boarding schools to help you recruit international students.

The services include:

			Market research
			Agent contact listings and networking fairs
			International events and student recruitment exhibitions
			Marketing and promotional opportunities
			Networking meetings
			Communications
			Professional development and training courses

The benefits:

			plan more effectively with schools-focused market intelligence
			build a valuable network of agents to promote your school
			meet students and parents at schools-focused events and exhibitions
			reach your target audiences through marketing and promotional opportunities
			gain ideas and best-practice with local advice and professional development opportunities.

Some of the services are available exclusively to members of the Partnership; some are available to all UK boarding schools, with members receiving discounts and priority booking. Please see the service overviews for more details.

The Partnership focuses on providing services in 18 country markets.

The Partnership services for boarding schools are supported by a Practioners Panel.

Fees and how to join
The annual Partnership membership fee for boarding schools is GBP 1,950 plus VAT. There is also a non-refundable one-off joining fee of GBP 98 plus VAT. Some services available to boarding schools are optional, paid services.

If you are interested in joining the Partnership as a boarding school, please check that you meet the eligibility criteria and then submit the membership registration form.

To find out more about the Partnership services for boarding schools, please contact the Education UK Partnership helpdesk.

Services
Market research

International education market for boarding schools reports: A range of reports are available focusing on the market for UK boarding schools in key countries to help you evaluate market opportunities and plan where to focus your recruitment and marketing activities. Exclusive to members of the Partnership, the reports cover macro-economic profiles, levels of disposable income, in-country education systems, student populations, subject demand and more.

Other market intelligence – including many reports available to non-Partnership members – is also available.

Agent contact listings and networking fairs

			Agent listings: Members of the Partnership have access to agent contact listings for key markets. All agents listed are currently engaged in, or interested in, representing boarding schools.
			Agent fairs: Designed for UK boarding schools, the fairs are a great way to meet international agents from key non-EU countries and to build a network of agents to promote your school. The first two agent fairs took place in May 2009 in Leeds and Bristol. In total, 27 agents from 14 countries attended, including Bahrain, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Malaysia, Nigeria, Russia, Thailand, Uganda and Vietnam. Of the 37 schools who attended, 90 per cent rated their meetings with agents as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’. The next agent fairs are provisionally scheduled for 27 and 29 April 2010. Further details will be made available here shortly.

You can find out more about other ways the British Council supports institutions in working with agents.

International events and student recruitment exhibitions
The Partnership offers a range of boarding schools-focused events and exhibitions to help you meet international students and their parents. This includes dedicated schools zones at some existing Education UK exhibitions, as well schools-specific events.

Forthcoming events and exhibitions include:

	Date Location Event 22 to 26 January 2010 Vietnam Pathway to University Mission This mission is targeted at schools and colleges that offer A-levels, International Baccalaureates or other pre-university courses. It will include events in Hanoi, Haiphong and Ho Chi Minh City. Open for recruitment - deadline: 23 November 2009 19 to 20 March 2010 Russia Boarding Schools Mission A two-day mission exclusively for UK schools. It will include opportunities to meet parents, students and education agents, and to visit local schools. Open for recruitment - deadline: 11 January 2010

The following events are also provisionally scheduled:

	Date Location Event 4 to 5 June 2010 Thailand Boarding Schools Mission A two-day mission exclusively for UK schools. It will include opportunities to meet parents, students and education agents, and to visit local schools.

Previous events include:

	Date Location Event 6 November 2009 Thailand Boarding Schools Information Day 17 October 2009 Hong Kong UK Schools Information Day 20 to 22 March 2009 Korea Boarding Schools Mission

As well as these boarding schools-focused events, Education UK also runs exhibitions in over 50 countries worldwide each year, ranging from small, focused events to large-scale exhibitions, some attracting up to 30,000 students.

Marketing and promotional opportunities

			Promotion on the Education UK websites: On-line research is now a major part of the student decision-making process. With the Education UK websites attracting over one million visitors per month, a profile is a great way to promote your institution.
			In-country publications: Many of our offices produce local publications targeted at potential students seeking an international education. You can showcase your offers using advertorials or place advertisements in several publications.

Other promotional opportunities are also available.

Networking meetings

			Annual seminar for boarding schools: The annual seminar is an ideal opportunity to meet other UK boarding schools and British Council staff and discuss issues relevant to international education and recruitment. The 2009 seminars took place on 18 May in Leeds and 20 May in Bristol. Presentations from the 2009 seminars are available. The 2010 seminars are scheduled for 26 and 28 April, the day before the agents fairs.
			Annual Partnership conference: Exclusive to members of the Partnership, the annual conference is an opportunity to gain knowledge of global issues and market trends. This year’s Partnership conference is in Edinburgh on 2 and 3 December 2009.
			Partnership regional meetings: Each year, we also hold a series of regional meetings which enable us to deliver a mid-year review and provide updates on Partnership developments.

Communications

			Boarding schools newsletter: To be kept informed of new services and opportunities for boarding schools offered by the Education UK Partnership and the British Council, subscribe to the quarterly boarding schools newsletter.
			Education UK Partnership newsletter: This keeps Partnership members informed of developments in areas such as service delivery, contract management, research projects and our external relationships with government, media and other relevant organisations.

Other communications are also available.

Professional development and training courses
To support you in your recruitment strategy, we offer a range of training and development opportunities, covering topics such as working with agents and marketing to help you gain market knowledge and develop your expertise.

Practitioners Panel
The Education UK Partnership services for boarding schools are supported by a practioners panel, which includes representatives from member and non-member schools, as well as industry bodies such as AMDIS. The purpose of the Practitioners Panel is to offer advice and sector reaction on the services and requirements of boarding schools.

The Panel meets twice a year. The first meeting was held on 24 February 2009 and the minutes (41KB) are available. The next meeting will take place on 29 October 2009.