Children's courses in the United Kingdom are gaining popularity, adult courses are losing it

The beginning of 2026 revealed an interesting trend in the UK language education market. Despite an overall decline in the number of study weeks among international students, certain segments continue to grow steadily — this is especially true of children's and teenage programs, which have been showing positive momentum for the second consecutive quarter. According to data from the QUIC survey conducted by the English UK association among the country's language schools, in the first quarter of 2026, 116 studying centres provided nearly 100,000 study weeks.

However, compared to the same period last year, the overall figure dropped by 7%. The main reason was a decline in demand among adult students — the number of study weeks in this segment decreased by 10%. Programs for schoolchildren and teenagers, on the contrary, grew by 7%, indicating high resilience in demand from young students and their parents. Although adult learners still make up the majority of the market, their share is gradually shrinking: a year ago they accounted for 87% of all study weeks, while by early 2026 this figure had dropped to 85%.

The geography of demand is also noteworthy. Saudi Arabia and Turkey remain the leaders in terms of the number of students coming to study English in the United Kingdom, followed by Italy, Brazil, and Japan.

Another important feature of the market is the role of educational agencies. Despite the growth of direct sales, the agency channel remains the primary means of student recruitment. In the first quarter of 2026, 74% of all study weeks were arranged through educational consultants and agencies — slightly less than the year before, but still the majority.

The majority of students continue to choose individual trips — they account for 74% of all study weeks, although this figure has declined somewhat compared to the previous year.

Experts note that the UK language education market is currently undergoing a period of transformation. For prospective participants in language programs, this trend means an expansion of opportunities in the Junior Education segment, which today remains one of the most dynamically developing areas of the British educational market.