Study Group International

The company dates the origin of Study Group as British Study Group, with centres in Hastings and Brighton, England. Having previously acquired by businessmen Andrew Colin and Duncan Greenland in 1989. A second language school was opened in Hove shortly after. Colin had previously acquired Bellerbys College, a sixth-form college for international students, this was incorporated in 1994 by Andrew Colin and Duncan Greenland, adding a third shareholder/director John Collyer with the merger.

In 1996, 40% of the business was acquired by the Daily Mail Group,[2] becoming Study Group International and expanding into the US and Australia.[3][4] Later, in 1999, the Daily Mail Group became the 100% owner of Study Group, paying an estimated UK£44 million.[5]

As well as expanding the UK and Australian operations, Study Group acquired the Center for English Studies (CES) chain of language schools in the USA and Canada,[4] adding Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver to their fold. Embassy became Embassy CES, and then Embassy English. In November 2018, Embassy English was acquired by EC.

In 2006 Study Group was acquired by Australian private equity company CHAMP, having been sold by Daily Mail Group for A$176.4 million.[6][7]

In 2007, the Brighton school and UK head office moved to purpose-built premises in the New England Quarter, next to Brighton station,[8][9][10] costing an estimated UK£28 million.[11]

On July 1, 2010, Providence Equity Partners took ownership of Study Group for $660 million Australian dollars.[12]

In February 2019, Ardian, a private investment house, announced that it acquired a majority stake in Study Group.[13]

In the United Kingdom, Study Group has entered into agreements with a number of universities, whereby international students are taught at an "International Study Centre" by Study Group staff on the university's premises before starting their regular undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses. The company website lists such arrangements at the following 'host' universities: Aberdeen, Cardiff, Coventry (London campus), Durham, Keele, Kingston, Huddersfield, Lancaster, Leeds, Leeds Beckett, Lincoln, Liverpool John Moores, Royal Holloway, Sheffield, Strathclyde (Glasgow), Surrey, and Sussex. The group has also had centres at Heriot-Watt (Edinburgh), Leicester, Newport[14], and the University of Stirling[15] which have closed.

Under these arrangements, Study Group programmes are validated by the host university. International students can then progress to a degree if they pass the course at the International Study Centre.

Study Group has made the same arrangements with a number of United States universities,. The company website lists such arrangements at the following universities: Baylor, DePaul, Hartford, JMU, Lynn, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Vermont, Western Washington.[16] There are also agreements for Study Group to recruit international students for Lipscomb, LIU Brooklyn, and LIU Post in the USA.

In Canada, Study Group have established International Study Centres at Centre for Arts and Technology, Royal Roads, and Stenberg College.

In Australia, there are International Study Centres provided by Study Group at ANU, Charles Sturt, Flinders, Sydney, and Western Australia. There are also International Study Centres in Ireland (University College Dublin), Netherlands (Holland), and New Zealand (Auckland, Massey, and Waikato)

Established in 1920, Taylors College is a university preparation college providing university foundation, diploma and Australian High School programmes (Year 10 - Year 12) in Australia and New Zealand. It was acquired by Study Group in 1998.

Taylors College has three locations in the major cities of Australia and New Zealand: Perth, Sydney, and Auckland.

Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory.

Charles Sturt University Study Centres are operated in conjunction with Study Group Australia, offering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Accounting, Business and Information Technology. The Study Centres have two campuses located in the city centres of Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Australia.

• Official website