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UK: Work complete on new music institute
K12
UK: Dukes Education absorbs London-based schools group
Dukes Education, a UK-based operator of premium private schools, has acquired House Schools Group, a cluster of three independent schools in London.
Prospect House School in Putney, Orchard House School in Chiswick, and Bassett House School in Kensignton have joined Dukes, lifting its total number of sites, which include schools and nurseries, to 36.
The schools are all co-educational and cater to students aged three to 11.
Dukes’ founder and chairman, Aatif Hassan (pictured), commented: “I am delighted to welcome these prestigious and high-quality schools to our family. The union provides the schools with continued governance and educational support, and long-term stability.”
The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The deal is the latest link in a chain of acquisitions by Dukes carried out over the past 12 months.
In the second half of last year, Dukes acquired five London settings: Heathside School; Bright Beginnings; Broomfield House; Hopes & Dreams Montessori; and Radnor House Twickenham.
Top Scottish public school to open in China
Gordonstoun, the famously austere Scottish public school much loved by Prince Philip and equally loathed by Charles, is to open a new school in China.
The school was founded in 1934 by Kurt Hahn and in addition to educational excellence had an emphasis on outdoor activities and skills such as seamanship and mountaineering.
The Duke of Edinburgh was one of the school’s earliest pupils, and he was followed by Prince Charles in the sixties and both of Princess Anne’s children in the eighties.
To facilitate the China project, the school is working in partnership with BBD Education, the management consultancy based in the UK and the United Arab Emirates.
Professor Ralph Tabberer, founder and owner of B B D E d u c a t i o n , s a i d : “Gordonstoun School is one of the top schools in the world with a unique and exceptional record in all-round education, based on its founder Kurt Hahn’s principles of service and challenge.”
Gordonstoun, Scotland
Higher education
UK: Work complete on new music institute
Work has been completed on a £9.5 million project to create a new music institute called Resonance in Brierley Hill, West Midlands, which will offer degrees for students seeking a career in a range of music industries and will teach everything from popular music performance, production, composition and business.
The building has been completed by fit-out and refurbishment firm Overbury and includes classrooms, lecture theatres, recording studios, practise rooms and a radio station, transforming the former office building, which has lain empty for eight years.
David Barnard, co-director at Resonance, said: “The priority is to immerse students into a real-world environment working on project briefs designed in partnership with industry colleagues. People say the music ‘industry’, but really it’s music ‘industries’ as there are so many avenues and opportunities for students to explore.
“For every star on stage, there’s an army of people behind the scenes, be they session musicians, songwriters, producers, sound engineers, stage managers, PR agents and more. Our programme will blend musical, technical and practical skills with personal and professional development, entrepreneurship and enterprise. Our objective is to create workready graduates, who are not frightened to explore new ideas and have a go. The Resonance professional diploma, running alongside our degree courses, will provide an enriching experience developing the essential soft skills needed for an ever-changing global industry.”
Applications are being accepted for courses beginning in September. Fees are £9,250 a year.
Higher education
Coventry University moves into Poland and Morocco
The UK’s Coventry University is moving rapidly into foreign markets with a brace of overseas initiatives.
The institution has moved a step closer to becoming the first foreign university in Poland by signing a lease agreement for a new branch campus in Wrocław, western Poland.
The new campus occupies two floors in the Centrum Południe complex being developed by Skanska, which combines office, service and recreational functions.
More than a dozen bus and tram stops service the campus, and there’s also a wide range of banks, pharmacies, cafes, restaurants and other services nearby.
Work to fit out the campus building with facilities for students started last month and will be completed at the end of June, with testing and commissioning of the building scheduled to take place in the summer.
The branch campus will welcome its first students in September, and will offer UK degrees taught in English. Initially, it will offer undergraduate programmes in digital technology, business management and cybersecurity, while a fourth course – aviation management – is in development.
In the first year of operation, the branch campus plans to recruit approximately 160 students with ambitions to increase student numbers and the course portfolio in the future.
John Dishman, pro-vicechancellor and chief executive of CU Group, Coventry University, said: “The location is perfect for us. The quality of the buildings is superb and enables us to offer high-quality education, in modern purpose-built accommodation.”
Real estate firm Knight Frank provided support for the deal.
Coventry University is also partnering with a Moroccan higher education institution to provide teacher training and business, science and technology programmes at a new campus in Casablanca.
Morocco’s Superior Institution of Science & Technology (SIST), a higher education institution operating in English, will invest £14 million to develop a purpose-built campus in the Moroccan city to host the programmes.
John Latham, vice-chancellor of Coventry University, said the university is the first UK institution to sign an agreement to set up a campus in Morocco.
He said: “Our partnership with SIST will give us our first strong relationship with a Moroccan institution, particularly around
The Centrum Południe complex
science and technology and teacher training.
“We’re also looking at partnerships in nurse training and nurse education and exploring links around research, especially water security and food security.
“We see Morocco as a gateway to Africa and a country where higher education in the UK overall could have more and further collaborations.”
The memorandum of understanding, signed on 22 January, will enable joint research, teaching and mobility between the UK and Moroccan institutions.
The agreement was signed during a reception at the inaugural meeting of the UK-Morocco Higher Education Mission, which sets out to boost the collaboration between the two countries.
SIST delivers programmes from Cardiff Metropolitan University and is the only school in Morocco offering full, internationally accredited British degrees in addition to Moroccan degrees.
As reported by this publication last year, Morocco is opening its doors to British schools as the country aspires to make English a more important aspect of its schooling, which has traditionally been more French-leaning.
An agreement between the two countries’ governments was struck last year, streamlining the process of setting up a school in Morocco and opening up the possibility of a promising new market for British education institutions.
South Africa: Workforce Holdings to acquire Johannesburg business school
Johannesburg-based investment holding company Workforce Holdings is acquiring Chartall Business College in Johannesburg for 34.88 million rand (£1.8 million), IOL has reported.
Established in 2012, Chartall Business College provides education and training, mainly servicing the corporate market, with a focus on the financial services industry.
Workforce stated: “Through the acquisition, Workforce’s training cluster gains exposure to the financial services market and is also able to offer its existing clients training qualifications that meet their requirements for bursary spend in terms of the latest broad-based black economic empowerment codes.”
Workforce added that Chartall Business College has differentiated itself by using online platforms to deliver its training and by having a specialist focus on recognition of prior learning – and to this end it has developed proprietary intellectual property.
Higher education
Strayer University has opened a new campus in Tallahassee, Florida, its ninth in the state, and will provide programmes that offer working adults flexible and affordable higher education options. Spring classes will begin in April.
Strayer stated that the campus’s hybrid model will provide students with the space and opportunity to work with Strayer’s student services coaches, meet one-on-one with faculty and staff, take on-ground courses, and network with peers.
Dr Michael Plater, president emeritus of Strayer University, said: “The new campus in Tallahassee will offer our students the best of online education and in-person support. Students can now access programmes specifically designed to ensure their success in the workforce following graduation, including resume building workshops and financial planning.”
While nearly 95% of Strayer students take some or all classes online, the university found its students who live near a campus tend to complete their courses and continue into their next terms at higher rates than students who don’t live near a campus.
Over the past two years, Strayer University has launched hybrid campuses across 11 states. It has more than 75 campuses and enrols more than 50,000 students nationwide. It offers associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees, with a range of courses including criminal justice, business administration, education, and information technology.
UK: London management school opens second campus
The London School of Management Education (LSME), a higher education provider of teacher training, business management and health and social care, has opened an additional campus in Gants Hill in East London, with the support of a six-figure financial package from HSBC UK.
LSME says the new campus has classrooms, recreational facilities, and improved IT infrastructure. LSME adds that the new facility will enable it to accommodate a greater number of students from underrepresented parts of the community, supporting the government’s agenda for the eradication of educational barriers.
The expansion has also created six new jobs
LSME executive director Dr Ravi Kumar said: “Our expansion will also put us on the right path to reaching our future objectives for higher student engagement with employers through our community outreach programmes.”
Jeff Richards, HSBC UK’s regional director for business banking in North London, added: “LSME is a long-standing customer. We have watched the school grow from a small institution into the highly regarded education provider it is today. This new campus is testament to the popularity of LSME’s courses and teaching practices and we are in no doubt that the team will achieve their ambition in attracting more students from a variety of backgrounds and communities.”
HSBC UK stated that the deal was part of its £14 billion lending fund to support SMEs in the UK.
Singapore: New location on the menu for Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne
Swiss hospitality and leisure management university Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) has secured the location of its future Singapore campus after getting the green light from the citystate’s authorities.
EHL has been authorised to deliver its bachelor in international hospitality management and will receive its first cohort in the autumn next year. In the meantime, the EHL says it plans to deliver short courses on site from as early as July.
Once a boarding school for the children of British soldiers, the former Kinloss House has been restored to its former classic beauty. It is a 2,400 square meter building set in 1.9 hectares of land that was last used as an executive training centre by a major global company. The property houses classrooms, meeting rooms, a large multipurpose hall and numerous break out spaces.
EHL group chief executive Michel Rochat said: “We very much look forward to expanding our connection to the local community and participate in this thriving environment. It is with enthusiasm and conviction that we embark on this new adventure. Our commitment to the local economy will start here and extend throughout the country, as we hope to strengthen our existing ties to the Singaporean hospitality industry.
