20231029

Elite British Schools Woo Rich Indians After China Growth Prospects Sour

It’s a well-trodden path for children of wealthy Indians to study in the UK. Now, some of the schools are coming to them, with elite establishments starting to open franchises in India.

Last month Wellington College, a nearly 170-year-old private school based in the English county of Berkshire, debuted a campus in Pune, near Mumbai. Harrow School — which traces its history back to a 1572 charter from Queen Elizabeth I and outfits its students in distinctive straw hats — established its Bangalore affiliate in August.

Both are part of an ongoing push by top British schools to expand a lucrative model where they lend their brands, and often expertise, to an overseas education provider for a fee. The profit is then repatriated back home and frequently used to subsidize awards to students who need financial assistance. Over the past five years, the number of such outposts across the globe has increased from 51 to 122, according to a March report by the think tank Private Education Policy Forum.

More than half of the schools are located in China and Hong Kong, but here the outlook for growth is dulling. The exodus of expats from Hong Kong has dented demand for places there, and in China the government has tightened restrictions on international schools, including requiring Chinese students to follow a specified curriculum up to their ninth year of education. There have been symbolic changes too: last year Harrow Beijing had to stop using its British name after the government banned schools with Chinese students from using foreign names.

In the search for growth, the headwinds in China have pushed schools to start to exploring other Asian markets. While new openings are planned across a range of countries — Rugby School opened a campus in Japan in September — India is emerging as a potential hot spot. It has some of the strongest economic growth in the region and an ascendant largely English-speaking middle class, meaning demand for private education is expected to increase.

As well as hoping their historic names will give them a recruitment edge, the trailblazing schools have glittery campuses and promise to attract top teachers. One lesson they’ve learnt from operations elsewhere is that parents may not want a pure Westernized approach. Harrow Bengaluru, for example, teaches its students Sanskrit and recognizes holidays like Gandhi’s birthday.

While in Britain, parents often register their children at birth for top schools, in India the same brands need to hustle for business. As well as international peers, there’s strong local competition as India has a long tradition of English-influenced boarding schools, whose graduates become politicians, heads of state, business leaders and Bollywood actors. Many are located in northern areas of the country and boast top facilities and impressive views. Doon School, set in the foothills of the Himalayas, counts ex-Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi among its alumni, for example.

“A few years ago, we had to approach boarding schools to pitch to Indian parents at events such as this,” said Namita Mehta, president of the Red Pen, the educational consultant hosting the event. “This year, we got an overwhelming number of inbound requests.”

The new offerings had piqued the interest of some parents attending the recruitment event. “It’s a better option than international pricing,” said Zeba Motorwala. Others weren’t so sure. Neil Amanne, who came to scout options for his grade-school age son and nephew said he wouldn’t consider any options in India. “They need to get used to being independent,” Amanne said. “I told them I’ll send them abroad, to teach them to be as independent as possible.”

While most existing big name international schools in China are still operating, the changes in Chinese government policy means schools are backing away from new openings — Westminster School, for example, in 2021 dropped plans for a 2,000-pupil bilingual academy in Chengdu.

“Had China remained an accessible market, they probably would have continued to prioritize China over India,” said Jorge Amirola, a partner at education consultancy Cairneagle. “The price point they could achieve in China would be significantly higher than the price point they’ll be able to realize in India.”

EK: India makes more sense given the UK-India historical legacy.