Page 21 - ELG1903 Mar-Apr Issue 464
P. 21

SPECIAL FEATURE
        Day of English in Chester, it   of England. Partly because the   Powerhouse, Sir Jim O’Neill,   of Manchester there was a
        was, from the beginning, an   cost of living is low, the people are   would  understand.  In  an  population of 4 million people. If
        alliance of all the sectors: private   friendly and there are some very   interview with New Statesman   you took the region as a whole,
        language schools, FE colleges   good language centres.  magazine last year, he explained   that grew to 15 million.
        and universities joined forces to   However, the decision twenty   how he came up with the idea   “If you can create essentially
        promote the region.        years ago to pool the strengths of   at a football match between   a single market, you’ve got a
          So successful was the initiative   all the sectors involved to market   Manchester  United  and  game-changer, because you’ve
        that English UK North, as it is   the whole ELT resource across   Liverpool,     got something, along with
        now known, became the model   the entire region is the real secret   O’Neill, most famous for   London, that registers on the
        for the regional associations used   of its success.  predicting the growth potential   global stage.”
        by English UK, which represent   The  economist  behind  in the BRIC countries, realised   And this is exactly what
        British Council accredited schools.  the notion of the Northern   that within a 40-mile region   Northern ELT has done.
          The growth in the size of the
        northern  industry in the last
        twenty years is extraordinary. In
        1999, there were two accredited                                                                            TIM HILL/PIXABAY
        school in Manchester – one in
        Leeds and one in Liverpool,
        which opened that year.
          Now, Manchester has 16
        schools, Leeds has six and there
        are four in Liverpool. The chains
        have arrived too, with Kaplan, EF
        and EC all boasting Manchester
        schools; Irish-owned CES with
        centres in Leeds and Harrogate,
        and new, northern-owned chain
        NCG has centres not only in
        Manchester and Liverpool but
        now also in Dublin.
          The powerhouse plan has
        certainly worked for English
        Language Teaching in the North   The scenic and serene Yorkshire Dales.


















































        editorial@elgazette.com                                                                                21
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