"Participants coming out of the Cert SSM know how to be well organised, meet deadlines and communicate well. It really is an investment in a person and their career," says Diane Phillips, a British Council inspector and Cert SSM trainer.

Student statistics, a panel discussion about Brexit opportunities and an explorer who claims to have eaten his own dog were among the highlights of the biggest-ever English UK Annual Conference.

From schoolchildren in Africa and the Middle East, to refugees in the UK – it was the year when the Eddie Byers Fund broadened its reach to support a huge range of people to transform their lives through learning English.

UK ELT showed a mixed performance in both the state and private sectors in 2018, according to the annual student statistics report.

Four members have been re-elected for a second and final term to the English UK Board of Trustees, with a fifth joining for a first term in this year's election.