One of English UK’s fastest-selling events ever has been the China Roadshow, returning for the first time since 2019.   

The two-city workshop sold out within weeks, as did extra places which were added. The group flies to China later this week ready for meetings with agents in Beijing on Monday 27 November.  

“I’m surprised and delighted by how quickly it sold out,” said organiser Siobhan Baccas, English UK’s project manager. “It just shows there is appetite for these kinds of events and it’s exactly the right time to be going to China, especially as they’ve lifted the ban on group travel, which hadn’t happened when we began to organise it. The timing has worked out really well.”  

As part of English UK’s plan to expand promotional activities post-Covid, the event moves under the StudyWorld umbrella to become the StudyWorld China Roadshow.   

Face-to-face StudyWorld events will continue in the new friendly and focused format next year. English UK will host StudyWorld London at the Hilton London Bankside in January. StudyWorld Online will take place in its new slot in September and the team plans to return to China at the end of the year.  

The StudyWorld China Roadshow’s 2023 format is slightly different for the first year back, with workshops in two cities – Beijing and Shenzhen – rather than three. There will also be a Department for Business and Trade session which will introduce more local educators and businesses, including multinational companies and universities.   

BONARD Education is English UK's main delivery partner for 2023. The team at British Council China is still involved and providing support.  

“It’s priced competitively so that people can go, making it easier for our members to compete in China, and it’s very good value with two venues,” said Siobhan. Bookings have come from a wide range of English UK members from chains to smaller centres as well as two non-members.   

She adds: “Going together as a group gives us a community spirit – we’re together as a cohort and from the educational perspective share ideas with each other. It’s good for the industry to have a group of people working together to promote UK education: we’re telling our story as a group.”  

“We’re really looking forward to going back – it’s such an interesting place and we think it’s going to be a great event.”