Invitation to tender: Summer Study in the UK Programme for Japanese High School Students

The British Council Japan is delighted to announce that we are launching the Summer English Language Study in the UK Programme targeting high school students in Japan in partnership with the Japan Association of Overseas Studies (JAOS - http://www.jaos.or.jp/english/index.html), an association of study abroad agents in Japan.

Overview of the Programme
To be launched as a pilot in March 2016, this programme will promote selected English language programmes provided by the Accreditation UK member schools amongst high school students in Japan with the aim of sending approximately 70 junior and senior high school students to 6 – 7 schools through JAOS member agents between the end of July and middle of August 2016. The schools will be selected through tendering organised by the British Council Japan in partnership with JAOS.

Selection criteria
English language schools that meet the following criteria will be invited to the tendering which is now open.

• Accreditation
  Accreditation by Accreditation UK
   
• Period of courses
  Proposals will be accepted from schools which offer 2 – 3 week ELT programmes, starting from the 25^th July 2016 and finishing by 26^th August. For courses which accept 13-15 year-olds (junior high school students), 1 week ELT programme will also be accepted.
   
• Size of group and provision
  Groups of approximately 12 Japanese students will be placed by agents in a participating school. Please note that schools participating in the scheme should identify what age group they would like to involve within the range of 13 – 18 years. Due to school/university entrance examinations for 15 and 18 year-olds, this programme will be mainly targeted towards school students at the ages of 13, 14, 16 and 17.
                                                 
• Group leader
  One group leader per group will be a requirement. The arrangements of costs for a group leader should be decided between schools and agents after the selection process.
   
• Classes
  Schools or colleges which are able to offer mixed nationality classes will be given preference. The schools do not need to create a tailor-made class for the group of students; it is expected that the students will join existing classes.
   
• Pricing and fees
  A local agent fee will be charged to students/parents on top of the fee posted by the school. The commission will be decided through agreement between the school and the designated agent.
   
• Agents
  English language schools which have experience of working with agents in Japan will be preferred.
  
  Schools which do not have partnerships with JAOS member agents are also invited to participate in the tender but will be required to agree on a partnership with one of such agents once selected in order to participate in the scheme.
  For a list of the current JAOS member agents, please visit the JAOS website at http://www.jaos.or.jp/english/member/index.html.
   
• British Council Japan’s roles and responsibilities
  Placement of students will be handled by agents assigned to participating schools by JAOS and the British Council Japan. The British Council Japan will be responsible for the marketing and promotion of the programme in Japan. Once selected, the participating school will be asked by the British Council Japan to submit a profile of the school for promotional purposes by a certain date. The school will be individually contacted by designated agents for further details for their respective promotion.
  Once schools have been assigned agents, they should then communicate and negotiate details directly with the agent not the British Council Japan.
  The British Council Japan will charge £100 to institutions for each successfully enrolled student through this scheme. The invoice will be sent to each school at the end of August 2016. The fee covers costs for marketing and promotion, including online and offline promotion through a dedicated web page, flyers and a mini fair. Institutions will be invoiced once students have attended the course.

How to participate in the tender
There are two steps to participate in the tender:

1. Please fill in the tender form which can be downloadable below.
2. Please create a PowerPoint presentation. The presentation should include:
   - School profile
   - Description of the detailed contents and costs of the programme which the school would like to propose for this programme.       

Please submit the tender form and the PowerPoint presentation (in PDF format) to the British Council Japan at JP_BC-SIEM@britishcouncil.org.                    

Deadline for submission: Monday 14 December 2015

Please note that we will select schools solely based on the information provided on the tender form and PowerPoint presentation. We will not consider any other additional materials provided during the selection process.

Notification of results
We will notify you of the results by late January.

Scheduled timeline
Mid November 2015: Invitation to tender
14 December 2015:  Deadline for tender
Late January 2016: Selection of schools and announcements
February 2016: Preparation for marketing
March 2016:  Launch of campaign website and start of promotion
April/May 2016: Face to face promotional event in Tokyo (agents to be invited to speak to students and parents)
July – August 2016: Students travel to the UK

Background:
The Japanese government aims to double the number of students studying abroad by 2020, from the current 60,000 per year to 120,000 for university students, and from 30,000 to 60,000 for senior high school students. According to the latest statistics compiled by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in Japan, more than 42,000 Japanese senior high school students studied abroad in 2013 in total, an increase by 26 per cent compared to 2012. This includes students who participated in various student exchange programmes, as well as those studying at English language schools. The Japanese government has launched a competitive funding programme for the internationalisation of school education. It funds more than 100 “top global high schools”, which will enhance the provision of classes taught in English and expand study abroad opportunities and advice for students.

The British Council Japan regards the ELT summer school market in Japan as a strategic priority for UK educational promotion in Japan. Competition with other major English speaking countries, particularly from Australia and Canada is intensifying. We think that it is extremely important for the UK ELT sector to capitalise on the growth of the young learners’ market in Japan and the British Council Japan is keen to support the initiative.

Contact
If you have any enquiries about this tender please write to:

Rui Ogura
Projects Officer (Education)
British Council Japan
Email: JP_BC-SIEM@britishcouncil.org
Tel: +81 3 3235 7955

General enquiries:

Ayako Towatari
Projects Manager (Education)
British Council Japan
Email: ayako.towatari@britishcouncil.or.jp
Tel: +81 3 3235 8043