How English UK is supporting students through the Bell schools closure

A week on from the sad announcement that Bell's three centres were to close, English UK staff have been busy placing around 125 students on new courses.

We are incredibly grateful to the member centres which have offered students places on courses, often for several months.  

The membership team have also been supporting students with visa and other issues as part of the service offered by the Student Emergency Support scheme.

"We have been working flat out to talk to students, find ELT centres willing to offer places and will continue to assist in other ways. This includes transport for students who will have to move from Cambridge to other areas, and in helping with visa issues," said Huan Japes, joint acting chief executive.

About Student Emergency Support

Membership of this scheme is mandatory for Accreditation UK members and administered by English UK. It is a condition of Accreditation UK that schools provide free places for students displaced by an unexpected closure where they can. We aim to match students to a new course as close as possible to their previous one.

If a school closes, the English UK membership team create an up-to-date student list and contact centres to place students on equivalent courses. In cases of real emergency – for instance, if juniors are involved – accommodation may be funded for the shortest-possible period.

In the case of Bell, some students may be helped to fund their move to their new school, if it is outside Cambridge, or with some costs of applying for a new visa.

What happens next?

The initial focus has been the major task of placing students, many of whom were on longer-term courses. As we move beyond the closure date of 31 October work will shift to supporting students who may need to apply for new visas, potentially assisting with costs and mediating with UKVI. English UK is taking legal advice on some aspects of this.

We are also considering what help can be provided to future arrivals and will provide more detail on this once we have placed all the current students.