Family-run ELT centre in Bournemouth closes its doors

Farewell to Capital School of English

It began and ended with airport runs for a group of Swiss students. In the intervening 22 years there were tens of thousands of English learners, a select group of loyal agents and a lot of hard work and innovation.

Spencer and Paulina Fordham closed the doors of Capital School of English in Bournemouth after the last of their autumn students had left in early October.

"It's the industry we love. It's part of our DNA and we've spent most of our adult lives in it and we still have a lot to offer." said Spencer, an English UK trustee until earlier this year.

"I don't think you get many schools with the two owners and their two daughters working in the summer for four weeks – I think that's unique." We met every group, worked closely with every accompanying group leader, built up incredible relationships with each student and said goodbye to every group," said Paulina.

Working on future collaborations

They are currently in discussions with nearby Bournemouth schools about groups already agreed for next spring and summer and are open to future collaborations.

They have chosen to halt operations in a controlled way, refusing to compromise on quality or their personal way of doing things. Their reputation and their partnerships are too important to risk.

Romantic beginnings

There have been so many highlights along the way.  They were the youngest ELT school owners and Spencer the youngest ELT principal when they founded Capital in 2003. Spencer had taken his TEFL after working in national newspaper marketing. Paulina had left her career in banking. The pair met at a Korean food party and in their first attempt at successful teamwork, they had to catch a slice of bread flipping from a toaster with their heads.

A decade in, they had expanded to three sites in Bournemouth and up to 700 students a week, with innovations including their Future Success course shortlisted for a British Council ELTons award and later STEAM programmes, both of which gave students experience with local employers and taught useful working skills.

"Very few in the industry were talking about 21st century skills before that – we ran several groups immensely successfully but then came the pandemic and Brexit. Our Future Success programme did have a positive impact on the industry – and was one of a number of projects we launched successfully", said Spencer.

What's next?

Now, their focus is on the future. "I don't think there are many industries where you can get to know people, travel in the way we do and bring people together. Under the current geopolitical climate, we had students from five continents in our summer school. It was like a utopia – everyone got on," said Paulina.

 "We feel this is the right time to close and with our combined 50 years of experience in the industry we are positive that we will find a new way forward."

Finally, they would like to thank all their students, staff, homestay providers and partners around the world for their support, loyalty, and trust over the years.