International Schools Sector Explores Saudi as Asia Market Toughens
Saudi is the “land of opportunity” for K-12 schools with international expansion plans, experts have suggested, pointing to the Kingdom’s plans to attract more international private operators.
The international schools market has shifted as a result of the pandemic, with markets like Southeast Asia becoming “tougher” to operate in, and teacher recruitment more challenging than ever, speakers at the IPSEF Global conference in London said.
The conference, which is aimed at independent and international schools looking for overseas opportunities, explored how to open a school abroad and which markets to look at. Throughout the day, speakers kept coming back to Saudi as an interesting market.
“Saudi truly is the land of opportunity,” said Anita Gleave, founder and CEO of Chatsworth Schools and its international arm Blenheim Schools, which recently opened its first school in Riyadh, Beech Hall. There’s increasing place for “high quality British education” across the world, which presents “endless opportunity”, she added.
Unlike many other countries, the opportunity for international schools in Saudi is “a local opportunity”, said Vipul Bhargava, partner at Novistra, a boutique advisory firm.
It’s estimated that there are 1 million local students going to the private schools sector and 1,000 schools are required. A lot of Saudis have the funds to afford private education and the demand for English-medium schools is very high, making it a very attractive place for international and British schools, the panel agreed.
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