Discussions at IPSEF on June 27 outlined how Latin America is perhaps a less thought-of destination for British international schools to set up shop.

Most providers look chiefly towards the Middle East as well as South East Asia, but on a panel examining emerging markets, experts said it was a region that had perhaps been overlooked.

“Their proximity to the US may have some implication of their leaning towards a certain style of education,” said host and L.E.K. Consulting partner Ashwin Goel, referring to the US education system.

Freddie Cloke, head of school development at ISC Research, noted that the region is going through a big period of economic growth.

“We’ve definitely seen it in places like Brazil and Mexico – and we’ve seen growth in the middle classes as well,” he said.

He also pointed to the big rise in English language tuition across Latin America – the countries are becoming big sources of international language students, with Colombia poised as the top sending country worldwide for ELT in 2023.

Bigger groups in Brazil are acquiring more bilingual schools and international school groups as well

Freddie Cloke, ISC Research

Pointing to Brazil in particular, Cloke explained that there had also been a lot of mergers and acquisitions activity across the international schools in the country, which could open a window of opportunity for more interest.

“Bigger groups in Brazil are acquiring more bilingual schools and international school groups as well,” he said.

For independent schools that were in the room, Cloke said that there would need to be “testing and priming” for Brazil’s market.

“It’s definitely on that trajectory course – I’d say the same for Mexico, which also has some M&A activity among international school groups, schools seem to be happy to sell.

“We’re definitely seeing opportunities especially in the major cities, like Mexico City, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro – I think there’s further growth to happen across the sector in the future, which is exciting,” Cloke added.