Last August I wrote a piece on this blog about UK Education’s contribution to the export drive under the title ‘Buy British Education’. This followed a research report from the DfE. https://johnohowson.wordpress.com/2017/08/04/buy-british-education/
Recently, the DfE has updated the figures to include those for 2015. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-revenue-from-education-related-exports-and-tne-activity-2015 This remains a good news story for UKplc. Our higher education sector accounts for two thirds of the revenue stream in 2015, up from 60% in 2010. Further Education, presumably following the crackdown on colleges and visa infringements, has seen a two thirds drop in income to around £320 million. It had been looking in 2010 as if the FE sector would break the Billion pound barrier.
Happily, the independent school sector has increased income by 44% between 2010 and 2015, and brought in some £900 million in 2015.How they might be affected if further sanctions on are imposed on Russia is an interesting question. Despite a fall in income generated between 2010 and 2015, Language schools still brought in nearly £700 million more than independent schools.
As I predicted last summer, publishing is now being affected as the marketplace adaptation to new technologies gathers pace. Although income has increased by six per cent between 20-10 and 2015, that figure looks derisory compared with achievements elsewhere. Qualification Awarding Bodies did exceptionally well, increasing revenue by 73% over the period between 2010 and 2015, and brought in £250 million that year.
Taken overall, total education exports and transnational educational activity that earned revenue for the UK saw a 22% growth in revenue between 2010 and 2015 to reach £19,330,000,000.
Of course, all the income flows aren’t in one direction and it would be interesting to assess how much net contribution education makes to UKplc after cash flows in the other direction are taken into account. During the period 2010-2015 that great British institution, the TES, was bought by an American Group and if were it making profits they would presumably be flowing overseas along with some of the company’s contribution to its debt pile.
TeachVac, the company where I am chairman, hope to start making a modest contribution to these export figures through www.teachvacglobal.com our recruitment site for international schools. As it is based in England, our income can be regarded as part of the export drive.
However, there are some worrying signs behinds the headline numbers. The DfE point out in the latest Bulletin that between 2014 and 2015 total education exports and TNE activity grew by 3.0%, 1.7 percentage points lower than the rate of growth seen between 2013 and 2014. This reflects the slightly lower growth rate in total education related exports which grew at 2.4% between 2014 and 2015, compared to 4.4% in the previous year.
We must now await the outcome of the UK’s departure from the EU to see whether or not it affects income, especially fee and research income received from overseas by our universities. Perhaps, if overseas students had been excluded from the immigration figures, some who voted leave might have felt differently about the referendum: or perhaps not.
John Howson 
While it’s long been accepted that international pupils are welcome at our universities and private schools and, as you say, bring in much income to UKplc, this welcome should not include access to English state-funded academies. In 2013, it was revealed that the PM’s office wrote a letter discussing the ‘export potential’ of academies.
Leave aside the logistical problems of caring for foreign children attending English schools (where would they live? Who would be responsible? Safeguarding?), it would be unacceptable if English pupils found it more difficult to gain places in academies because they were being taken by fee-paying non-UK pupils.
http://www.localschoolsnetwork.org.uk/2013/07/more-secret-plans-pm-wants-academies-to-attract-foreign-pupils-as-part-of-education-exports-strategy
Janet,
I entirely agree. International pupils whose parents are working, studying or refugees in England are fine but residing in England just to use the State school system isn’t, especially in areas where demand for places is high.
John
I’ve no objection to children whose families are resident in UK or who are refugees or asylum seekers being allowed free access to state schools. What I objected to was the suggestion that people resident abroad should be able to buy places in English state-funded schools thereby supplanting pupils resident in England.
Janet,
Totally agree.
John
Since State education is supposed to be free at the point of delivery, would this work like the charging system for those from overseas attending NHS hospitals. Seems a daft idea.
John