With the reported rise in enrolment figures for international schools across the globe and an ever increasing choice of education provision, relocating families are likely to welcome a new interactive tool from Lloyds TSB International offering valuable information about schools around the world.
Finding the right school for their child is top of the list of priorities for any relocating family and, amid the news that there are more international schools in existence than ever before, the challenge for families to find the school that meets their needs is becoming even greater.
According to a recent report from ISC Research, an organisation which researches and analyses developments in international schools, the international schools market ended the 2010/11 academic year with the highest number of schools ever in existence and the greatest number of students ever attending.
While the list of schools included in the Lloyds TSB International schools tool is not exhaustive, it does help to provide a useful guide on what to expect overseas, with details about the choice of international schools around the world.
“Moving abroad is an exciting step towards a new life and adventures overseas”, says Tony Wilcox, Managing Director Expatriate Banking at Lloyds TSB International.
“Pre-move expats will want to make the right preparations to ensure a smooth transition,” Mr Wilcox continues. “That’s why we’ve created useful tools to provide guidance on what to expect in popular destinations. The first of these is an interactive international schools tool, which expats can use to check important details like fees, term times, curricula and contact details for a wide range of international schools around the world.”
And it seems that, once settled, British expats are enjoying their new family life overseas. According to research conducted by Lloyds TSB International amongst British expats based in the 10 most popular expat destinations, 51% said their country of residence is a better place to raise children. 28% of respondents think that schooling is better in their country of residence.
New figures from the International Educator, a resource for international teachers, support the findings that an international education is becoming an increasingly popular option. 166 leading international schools were included in a survey, representing every region of the world. Of these, 69% had experienced increased pupil numbers since the last academic year.
"This is completely counter-intuitive to the daily barrage of dire economic news and prediction," Forrest Broman, The International Educator executive director commented. "If the global economy is sputtering, one would expect to see a significant drop in international school students, many of whom are the children of expatriate employees."
According to ISC Research there are currently over 2.8 million students enrolled in international schools around the world, and that figure is expected to grow over the next ten years.
By July of this year (2011), there were 5,833 international schools around the world, teaching 2,859,008 students – a 6.2% increase in the overall number of schools during the academic year and an 11% increase in the number of students. Eleven years ago, in 2000, there were just 2,584 international schools teaching 969,445 students.
With such an expanding choice in the international education market and increasing demand for places it is more important than ever that parents to equip themselves with as much information as possible to help them plan their child’s education overseas.
The Lloyds TSB International interactive schools tool can be found at www.lloydstsbexpat.com.
