Opportunity for UK boarding schools: “UK Boarding School Information Session” to be held on 22 October 2017 in Tokyo, Japan

The British Council Japan will organize a “UK Boarding School Information Session” in Tokyo on Sunday 22^nd October 2017 in response to recent growing interest in overseas boarding school education in Japan. The event represents an excellent opportunity for UK boarding schools to directly engage with prospective students, their parents as well as potential partners and to raise their institution's profile in the market, all at a reasonable price. We are offering participation for up to 4 UK boarding schools. A digital campaign promoting the event and each participating school to the target audience is included in the package. A special discount will be offered to those institutions also attending the Study UK Exhibition Japan scheduled for 21^st October 2017.

Benefits of participating

• Raise your profile in a growing market
  This campaign provides an excellent opportunity to raise your profile and engage with parents face-to-face at a time when interest in overseas boarding schools is growing in Japan.
• Generate new links
  This event will target not only prospective students but also teachers and agents. Participating schools seeking new partnerships can take this opportunity to establish links with potential partners.
• Excellent value for money
  This event represents a cost-effective way of profile-raising and engaging with the target market in one-sitting.

Market Background

• As of January 2017, a total of 924 students from Japan (those with parents in the UK or overseas) were studying at independent schools in the UK, a 37% increase since 2013/14.
• A series of recent Japanese government policy reforms are expected to have a positive effect on the boarding school market in Japan in the coming years. These include:

Key reforms of English language education at primary school level https://education-services.britishcouncil.org/news/market-news/japanese-government-announces-change-english-language-education-primary-school

Formal recognition of A-levels as entry qualifications to Japanese universities https://education-services.britishcouncil.org/news/market-news/gce-level-be-formally-recognised-qualification-enter-japanese-universities-2016

Event details

Event title: UK Boarding School Information Session
Venue: British Council, Japan (Tokyo)
Date &Time: 2-5pm Sunday 22^nd October 2017
Target audience: Parents, schools and education authorities, agents
Anticipated attendance: 30-60
Number of slots available to UK boarding schools: 4

Package

1. Face-to-face event: “Boarding School Information Session”

• 15 minute seminar slot per institution
• Individual consultation throughout the event (3hours). Each institution will be allocated a booth consisting of one table, 6 chairs and an A4 sign with the school name. Please note, no back panels will be provided. Interpreters can be arranged at an additional cost.
• Institution introduction in on-day event guide (100 word introduction to be translated by the British Council, one image and school logo)

2. Marketing campaign

Each participating institution will be promoted via:

• Mailshots to target audiences (two institutions featured per mailshot)
• One social media (Facebook and Twitter) post per institution

The event will also be widely promoted through the below channels:

<Offline channels>

• Event flyer to be distributed to 800 schools in the Tokyo area and displayed at British Council front of house.
• The event will be promoted at the Study UK Japan Exhibition 2017 (estimated attendance: 700-900) to be held the day before the information session.

<Online channels>

• Paid Facebook post targeting parents in the Tokyo area
• British Council Japan corporate website (annual unique users: 600,000 / page views: 2.6m)
• British Council corporate e-flyer (11,000 subscribers) and social media accounts
• Monthly e-newsletter to prospective study abroad students (2,700 subscribers)
• Japan official IELTS Facebook page (5,200 likes)
• British Council Teaching Centre monthly e-newsletter (3,100 subscribers)

Cost

Standard participation fee: £800*
Discounted participation fee: £720* for schools also participating in the Study UK Exhibition 2017 (held on 21^st October 2017 in Tokyo)

*All prices are exclusive of VAT. Invoices will be sent following the event.

How to book a space

• To reserve a space, please complete the booking form (attached) and send to JP_BC-SIEM@britishcouncil.org by 18^th August 2017. Applications will be accepted on a first-come first-served basis. We will provide further details of the event (submission of school introduction, shipping of materials, etc.) following the application deadline.