Internationalisation of Schools and Universities: Should we Talk?
After more than a decade working in the UK university sector, I have been reflecting on the parallels in international education across both the higher education and independent school sectors. The UK Government’s 2026 International Education Strategy articulates an ambition to grow education exports to £40 billion per year by 2030, and expand soft power and partnership with the UK. In order to achieve this overarching policy goal, I believe the higher education and K12 sectors would benefit from more cross-fertilisation and dialogue as we all build long-term partnerships in the same priority and emerging markets.
Sector Comparison
UK transnational education (TNE) has seen huge growth over the last decade: in 2024/25, 669,950 students were registered on programmes overseas or online that lead to an award from a UK university. Broadly speaking, the internationalisation of UK higher education has moved from a purely commercially driven, transactional model to an approach more based on partnership, reciprocity, and long-term societal impact through education and research.[1] An indication of this shift was evident at the Universities UK InternationalTNE Conference in 2024 when a speaker asked delegates to avoid using the word ‘market’ for partner countries.
My observation is that the K12 international education sector’s main driver to date has been more commercial,[2] and bar a few exceptions, is just beginning to realise the full potential of collaboration and partnership between the founding school in the UK and its international schools. Despite the similarities between the two sectors, British independent schools overseas operate in different contexts to universities. Schools establishing overseas branches need to respond to market expectations of parents, while arguably using a more finite range of partnership models, which in turn may lead to a particular balance of commercial and partnership-led internationalisation.
All our RGS Guildford International schools are unique to their contexts and communities. We have made an RGS Guildford British education relevant by integrating aspects of local culture, history, language and religion, testing and refining this offering with each new school. We now have ambitious plans to enhance the opportunities for all students and staff to collaborate across the group as we move into our next phase of growth. We recognise the challenges inherent in building meaningful educational partnerships with our schools, and are working to define the exact global skills that we want our students to acquire, and how we assess the impact of our programmes in providing these skills.
[1] The Value of Transnational Education Partnerships | British Council; Managing risk and developing responsible transnational education (TNE) partnerships
[2] The internationalisation of British primary and secondary schools | LSEManagement
Benefits to Students in UK
Outbound student mobility from UK universities in the form of exchanges and internships abroad has formed an important pillar of institutional internationalisation strategies. The key benefit for students to undertake these activities has been enhancing their employability through developing the soft skills valued by employers. If British independent schools are able to provide more opportunities for their pupils to participate in learning activities, whether virtual or physical, curricular or co-curricular, that develop their global competence and ability to understand contexts different from their own, such experiences will lay the foundations for them to explore international mobility options at university. The result will be that students will have the opportunity to develop global competence in a seamless pathway through school to university and beyond. These combined experiences will provide them with the skills to build and work with teams around the world, creating a globally competent workforce that will increase the soft power and economic influence of the UK. At a time characterised by increasing geopolitical tensions and conflict, this can only be a good thing.
Cross-sector Collaboration?
A first step to generating more dialogue between the independent school and university sectors in the UK could be inviting speakers from one sector to the other’s key forums and events. In doing so, colleagues could draw on shared expertise when grappling with common challenges around geopolitics, security, due diligence, partner selection, and shifting economic trends. Such dialogue would strengthen the collective impact of UK education in the countries (which are more than just markets) where we all operate.
Source:
Alastair Morrison