In its relatively short life, Bishopstrow College has already achieved something of long-standing pride, quality and impact – the establishment and growth of our Partner Schools. Over the past 10 years or so, we have formalised partnerships with over 110 schools, validated by the UKVI, under which students with a confirmed offer of a place at a Partner School can attend a pre-sessional programme at Bishopstrow.
Our Partner School issues the CAS and Child Student visa, covering the programme at Bishopstrow and, in some cases, the pre-sessional programme is embedded within the overall admissions and enrolment process of the Partner School. Equally importantly is that what runs alongside those formal requirements of our partnership process is both the development of a close working relationship between two excellent education providers and the delivery of a high quality academic and pastoral experience for students from all over the world and of all ages.
I have spent over 30 years working in independent day and boarding schools in the UK, including as Principal of two international colleges in London and, latterly, as Principal of Bishopstrow College (2022-2024). At Bishopstrow, I quickly grew to appreciate the role and importance of our Partner Schools. Typically, a partner will offer a student a place at their school on the understanding that they need to attend a pre-sessional programme in order, above all, to raise their English level. When they turn to Bishopstrow to provide the latter, they do so knowing that our flexible points of entry, our small class size and our close-knit boarding community, will be an ideal fit. They know, in effect, that we will do all we can to ensure that whichever programme is followed, the student’s English will make the required improvement and that our boarding and pastoral provision will prove invaluable in preparing them for their next school.
Student Progress and Development
It is a feature of Bishopstrow’s approach to our school partnerships that we recognise that each such relationship has more than just a starting point and an exit strategy. It has, in between, a student’s academic and personal progress and development. Given that such a journey is of as much importance to our partner school as it is to us, we are happy to host visits to the College by our partners to enable them to catch up with their student in-situ and to gauge just how well they are being prepared for their next boarding school. Not only that, but our detailed twice-termly reports, which we deliberately call Individual Learning Plans, and which review progress and performance in all areas of college life and activity, can also be made available to our partners to review and, if they feel it helpful, to discuss with us.
Destination School Preparation Programme
Naturally, not all Bishopstrow students who move on to one of our Partner Schools will have been offered a place by them before they get to us. Some will apply to the school whilst they are at Bishopstrow. For these students, our Destination School Preparation Programme ensures that they are given the best possible guidance and support. This includes discussing school and subject choices, liaising directly with schools over test and interview dates, organising practice tests and conducting mock interviews with the Principal.
Beyond its direct involvement with students, our Partner Schools relationships are further developed in informal settings, such as UK boarding school workshops and overseas marketing and recruitment events attended by both schools and with confirmation of our attendance communicated to our partners beforehand. This provides an invaluable opportunity to update each other on school developments, catch up on a particular student’s progress or simply get to know existing or new colleagues at a marketing, recruitment, admissions or senior management level.
Partner Schools Development
In my new role as Development Director for Inspiring Futures Education (mario.diclemente@ifedu.com), I am focusing primarily on developing our Partner School relationships. To that end, I am keen to visit as many of our partners as possible and this very enjoyable work has already commenced this term. In fact, I am very grateful to those schools who have so far welcomed me and, in some cases, arranged for me to meet Bishsopstrow alumni. It is in doing the latter, above all, that I come to realise that every one of our 100-plus Partners have something very special to offer an international student and that we are very fortunate and privileged to share with them, and to influence, that student’s academic and personal journey.
Mario Di Clemente
Development Director IFE
For all Partner School related enquiries and information, please contact: partnerschools@bishopstrow.com
