English UK finds new courses for students affected by closure of Bell English

We are sad to announce that after 70 years Bell English will close on Friday 31 October. Bell has served notice to put its three schools in Cambridge, London and St Albans into administration due to financial difficulties.

Bell is one of the icons of our industry, founded by Frank Bell with the aim of transforming lives and promoting intercultural understanding via language education. Frank Bell was marked by his experiences teaching languages in a prisoner of war camp, where education became a powerful tool for resilience and connection. 

Many of the most significant figures in our industry have worked for Bell at some point and Bell has made an enormous contribution to English language training and pedagogy over the decades. The Bell Foundation charity, which works on a number of language training projects in the UK and elsewhere, will continue to run. We extend our sympathies to all of Bell's staff, students and partners affected by this closure.

Affected students are being placed on replacement courses by English UK staff as part of the Student Emergency Support (SES) scheme. Around 125 students will be affected by the closure of the two schools in Cambridge and London. The third school, in St Albans, will have no students by the closure date of 31 October. The SES, run by English UK, obliges British Council-accredited centres to offer places to current students at schools which have closed unexpectedly.

> More on the English UK Student Emergency Support (SES) scheme

English UK's acting joint chief executive, Huan Japes, commented: "We are very sorry for all the students and staff caught up in this closure and wish to pay our respects to the contribution that Bell has made to shaping the English language teaching industry over the last 70 years. The English UK team is working with Bell management and nearby centres to ensure the students can continue their courses as quickly as possible. We have visited the school to answer the students' questions in person, and we hope staff who have lost jobs find new employment quickly. We are very grateful to Bell staff and the administrators for managing the closure responsibly and with sensitivity."

He added: "Our data monitoring shows the UK is a very resilient market, despite tough trading conditions. With global headwinds and many challenges, our student numbers declined just 0.6% between 2023 and 2024.

"Our members focus on quality and are increasingly innovative, adapting to meet changing student needs in a maturing market. Unexpected closures do happen, but they are rare. Bell English's financial set up was very unusual for our industry as it was run by a charitable foundation. This is a very sad closure, but we don't see it as part of a wider trend.

"We understand how shocking closures are to affected staff and students, and our student emergency scheme is here to help anyone affected complete their studies as planned. We encourage students and agents to continue booking English courses in the UK with confidence."