Bell Educational Trust

Overview

Frank Bell founded the first Bell Language School in Cambridge, England, in 1955. His mission was to promote international understanding by providing high quality English language training to students all over the world.

In 1972, he established an educational charity - the Bell Educational Trust (now trading as Bell International). Its main aims remain: to provide language education, mainly in English, for adult students and young learners; to train teachers of English; and to offer language learning and teacher training experiences that will promote international understanding and intercultural exchange. The Trust has no shareholders, and money from fees is reinvested in developing and improving the services and facilities for students, and the worldwide services that are offered.

Bell staff and staff in Bell partner schools include language teachers, trainers, educational managers, consultants and materials writers, and Bell staff work closely with national and international organisations involved in language teaching worldwide.

Today, Bell is an international training organisation with three intensive training centres in the UK , a Young Learner operation, several wholly-owned subsidiaries and more than 20 partners throughout Europe and in Asia . This makes Bell one of the largest British-owned providers of English language and teacher training courses.

Bell Schools in England

The three main training centres in the UK are located in Cambridge, London and Bedgebury (Kent). These schools cater for around 4500 students annually, and provide intensive English courses ranging in length from a week to an academic year. Courses cover general / business English and English for specific and academic purposes, as well as a wide range of options. Bell Bedgebury provides full residential accommodation, Bell Cambridge specialises in academic courses, while Bell London specialises in business English courses for Professional students. In the past, students were also able to attend Bell Schools in Bath, Norwich (3 schools at one time), Saffron Walden and Oxford.

The Bell Bedgebury International School is a co-educational boarding school for boys and girls aged 12 – 17 which provides a foundation for international students looking to prepare for secondary or higher education in Kent,UK.

In addition, Bell runs residential courses for over 2000 younger students (aged 8 - 17 years), mostly during the British summer, in a range of locations.

In the UK Bell employs approximately 150 staff all year round with a further 400/500 being appointed on seasonal or short-term contracts. Although for many years a series of trades unions were recognised by management for the purposes of negotiating staff salaries, conditions etc., this right was withdrawn recently when union membership fell below 50%. Subsequently, although a membership drive among permanent staff restored an adequate level for recognition, the management withheld recognition on the grounds that temporary staff had not been included, although previously denying union rights to represent this category of staff.

Bell in Malta

Malta has become a major centre for English language training. English is widely spoken and is the official language (together with Maltese).

In 2001, Bell International opened a centre in Malta . Bell Malta offers a wide range of English language courses for adults and professionals, as well as summer programmes for young learners (12 – 16 years). The centre can accommodate a maximum of 80 adult students and 100 young learners.

Bell Schools Worldwide

Bell subsidiaries’ schools are located in Prague (Czech Republic) and Geneva (Switzerland).

In addition to these wholly-owned schools, Bell has an international network of Partner Schools. These centres are located in: Bulgaria, China, Poland, Spain and Thailand.

Bell centres outside the UK and Malta provide part-time training in a range of languages for clients from as young as two through to young adults and executives. Courses in English can be targeted to lead into, or follow up from, intensive courses in the UK.

Other Languages

Bell centres outside the UK and Malta offer courses in their own local languages to diplomatic and expatriate clients, plus a range of other languages that correspond to local needs. On an international scale Bell offers not only English, but also French, Czech, Italian, Spanish, Polish, German and Japanese.

Teacher Training

Teacher training is another aspect of Bell ’s offering, and courses are run in the UK as well as in most centres abroad. Bell regularly provides teacher trainers to run workshops or tailored courses in other countries. Many Bell staff are regular contributors to international teacher training journals and conferences.

Management, Consultancy and Project Services

For many years Bell has provided a variety of management, consultancy and project services to international organisations and governments. These range from developing language training policy and institutions to management of language centres. Bell is also involved in other short-term language training, teacher education work outside the UK.

Accreditation

Bell International is accredited by the British Council. This guarantee of quality recognises professional standards following rigorous and regular inspections.