British English Olympics

BRITISH ENGLISH OLYMPICS COMPETE AGAINST THE BEST By entering our competition, your students will hone their English and academic skills, CONTENTS grow as individuals, and represent their school on the trip of a lifetime. WELCOME TO THE BRITISH /4 ENGLISH OLYMPICS

WHAT IS THE BRITISH /6 ENGLISH OLYMPICS?

A HISTORY OF OUR COMPETITION /8 THE PROGRAMME /10 COMPETITION STAGES /12 JUDGING AND PRIZES /13

ELIGIBILITY AND REGISTRATION /14

CULTURAL PROGRAMME /15 LOCATIONS AND /16 ACCOMMODATION

STUDENT WELFARE /26 OXFORD INTERNATIONAL /29 PROGRAMMES

Do you have what it takes to compete against schools from around the world?

The British English Olympics (BEO) Every year, our students exceed our offers a chance for ambitious expectations with the passion, drive international students and schools to and commitment they show in their put themselves to the test in a series efforts to win the coveted British of academic and problem-solving English Olympics trophy. This year’s challenges – while visiting the UK, competition will continue to stretch The British English Olympics is learning about British culture and our students’ academic abilities, hosted by Oxford International, history, and making friends with other imagination and spirit. a British Council-accredited students from all over the world. organisation that has run English language programmes Would you like your students for more than 25 years and A UNIQUE CONTEST to develop life-long friendships educated over 200,000 Taking place each spring, our with a range of young people international students from competition gives students aged from different countries? Are you Europe, Asia, the Middle East 12-16 the opportunity to compete looking for an opportunity to get and Latin America. in a series of different challenges your students speaking English in After competing in our designed to help students improve everyday situations? If you’re joining Olympics, many participating both their English language and us for the first time, or if you have schools continue their stay in academic skills. Our Academic competed before, we look forward the UK or Europe by booking Olympiad currently attracts students to welcoming you to the next British one of our high-quality from 150 bilingual schools around English Olympics! educational tours. You can the world, representing 25 different find out more about these at www.oxfordinternational.com. countries from Latin America, - The British English Europe, Russia, the Commonwealth Olympics Team of Independent States, and Asia.

4 5 WHAT IS THE BRITISH ENGLISH OLYMPICS?

Our competition is an exciting English language and academic contest designed for the world’s brightest international students.

Our Olympics is a fantastic CULTURAL IMMERSION opportunity for teams of specially Over the two-week programme, selected 12 to 16-year-olds to spend students stay in some of the UK’s most an unforgettable two weeks in the exclusive boarding schools and visit UK. These students represent their some of the country’s best cultural schools, cities and countries in a attractions. Through these visits, demanding academic competition, students are able to both enjoy the while enjoying an amazing British beautiful English countryside and fully cultural experience – with most immerse themselves in British culture. schools returning year after year. What are the benefits? MEET DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES PERFECT YOUR ENGLISH At the competition, participants have FOR STUDENTS: In many countries around the world, a unique chance to meet students the British English Olympics has from all over the world. During their become synonymous with academic time here, they develop a healthy excellence. The competition sense of friendly competition, and also provides an opportunity for bilingual engage in a multicultural exchange to Improve your use of English Develop the ability to express Build greater knowledge and schools to challenge and develop learn more about each other. in real-life situations your academic knowledge understanding of other cultures the academic and leadership skills of gifted students, while raising the profile of their school. During the competition students compete in OVER 10 YEARS OF SUCCESS a series of debates, presentations, Since its formation in 2008, theatre role-plays and song and the British English Olympics Get a head start on future Improve your critical Develop key skills such as leadership, dance performances in a completely has gone from strength to international academic thinking, analytical and public speaking, team-building, strength, growing from a immersive environment. opportunities problem-solving skills negotiation, and debating fantastic small contest to a huge event with 2000 students competing. The 2021 competition promises to FOR TEACHERS: be the best ever with even more students from a wider range of countries competing at an even higher level.

Share knowledge with Promote international Increase the profile of your school other schools partnerships and exchanges – both regionally and internationally 6 7 THEME: Climate Change THEME: Globalisation THEME: Renewable Energy THEME: Sustainable Development THEME: Social Media WINNING TEAM: WINNING TEAM: WINNING TEAM: Colegio Argos Liceo Ibeoramericano WINNING TEAM: WINNING TEAM: Colegio Americano de Acapulco Jean Piaget del Rio Colegio Americano del Pacifico de Mexicali HIGHLIGHTS: The winning students A HISTORY are invited by the current Mexican HIGHLIGHTS: The number of HIGHLIGHTS: Into its third year, our HIGHLIGHTS: Four new countries HIGHLIGHTS: The competition President Enrique Peña Nieto to his schools competing doubles, and we Olympics takes place across three participate – Armenia, Peru, Bulgaria expands to a fourth centre state governor’s residence for host triple the number of students campuses for the first time. and the Ukraine. – Bradfield College. OF OUR a private awards ceremony. from our first year. 120 20 350 20 600 45 7 850 64 7 900 70 10 COMPETITION 2009 Students Schools 2010 Students Schools 2011 Students Schools Countries 2012 Students Schools Countries 2013 Students Schools Countries

Since our competition began in 2008, Oxford International has welcomed over 10,000 students from over 300 schools. Each year, THEME: Inspire and Be Inspired our Olympics has grown further, attracting an THEME: Constructive Conflict THEME: World Youth Parliament ever-wider mix of nationalities: we now host WINNING TEAM: contestants from around 20 different countries. Mater Salvatoris de Caracas WINNING TEAM: WINNING TEAM: U.E. Colegio Los Campitos Colegio Americano del Pacifico In 2018, we celebrated our 10th anniversary HIGHLIGHTS: Portugal, Greece, Turkey – and our competition continues to go from and Italy join to take the total to 18 HIGHLIGHTS: Countries competing HIGHLIGHTS: Teams from strength to strength. different nationalities. There is a fantastic include Brazil, Mexico, Russia, Mongolia, Spain, and Panama finale at the ExCeL centre, with over Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Costa join us for the first time. 2000 people attending the ceremony. Rica, Ukraine, Peru and Armenia.

1500 150 18 1500 140 13 1500 140 10 2016 Students Schools Countries 2015 Students Schools Countries 2014 Students Schools Countries

THEME: Building Bridges, THEME: The World in Motion Communication for the THEME: Out of this World World of Tomorrow WINNING TEAM: WINNING TEAM: Anglo Americano Prescott WINNING TEAM: Instituto Moderno Americano Kodaikanal International School Highlights: The first school from Peru Highlights: The most diverse and to win the best competition so far HIGHLIGHTS: The team from multi-national BEO so far with culminated in an incredible awards Kodaikanal International School in outstanding performances from all ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall on India win, making the competition teams who took part. London’s South Bank. our most global ever – until 2018!

1500 150 19 2000139 23 2000150 25 2017 Students Schools Countries 2018 Students Schools Countries 2019 Students Schools Countries

8 9 DURING OUR OLYMPICS, ALL SCHOOLS COMPETE IN THE FOLLOWING EVENTS:

THE PROGRAMME

BEO DEBATE 2.0 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION MYSTERY CHALLENGE X2 The British English Olympics expands students’ Teams are assigned a position to Selected students give a Students will be tested on their English and academic skills – whilst also being defend in a debate related to the presentation on a topic creativity and ingenuity, using competition theme. assigned to them in October limited resources to achieve their a lot of fun! of the previous year. goal. Past Mystery Challenges have included building bridges, towers, planes and monuments.

The aim of our English Olympics is to further students’ understanding of the English language while helping them develop skills in leadership, public speaking, team-building and time management – all necessary for future leaders. Team members must work closely together, support one another, and strive to be the best they can be. WORLD TRAVEL MARKET DRAMA FESTIVAL SONG CONTEST Teams are asked to represent another Students must write and Teams must choose a contemporary Every year, the contest focuses on a topical theme, which provides country at an imaginary international perform an original theatrical song and then write their own lyrics a forum for students to explore important global political and travel fair – with the aim of raising piece on a subject relating to to the melody of the piece. Their social issues. Previous years have been devoted to subjects such as interest and attracting visitors to that the current year’s theme. new song is then performed a capella globalisation, sustainable development, the digital revolution, and part of the world! during the competition… social media.

The competition consists of a series of challenges for the teams, which are assessed and graded by a select panel of judges. Sample Programme

DAY MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING DAY MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING 1 Arrivals Arrivals Campus tour & ice- 8 Drama Festival Country Spotlight Disco breaker activities 9 Extended full day excursion to London 2 Full Day excursion Walking tour On-site Activities 10 Improvisation Challenge International Night to Oxford and entrance 11 Semi Finals Semi Finals Talent Show to Christchurch On-site Activities On-site Activities College 12 Full day excursion to Portsmouth Karaoke 3 Opening Inter-School Welcome Disco Ceremony & Mystery Challenge 13 Grand Final Grand Final Centre Closing Campus Photo Ceremony & Goodbye Disco 4 Skills Workshop TED Talk On-site Activities Presentation 14 Extended full day excursion to London 5 Extended full day excursion to London 15 Departures Departures Departures 6 On-site Activities Mystery Song Contest Challenge 7 Debate On-site Activities/ On-site Activities Warner Brothers Studio Tours

10 11 COMPETITION STAGES

As the contest moves forward, the winners remain… until only one school is left.

The following competition structure is based on 6 competition campuses and 150 schools competing in total. As the number of schools competing changes every year, the numbers at each stage also change slightly to accommodate this. However, from the structure below you will see the outline of how the contest works.

First Round • 150 SCHOOLS

At each of our 5 campuses, 30 schools will compete in all 7 academic events. JUDGING AND PRIZES The top 8 schools from each campus go forward to the semi-finals. Who will get the trophies at our glittering Semi-Finals • 40 SCHOOLS final awards ceremony?

Each of the remaining 5 groups of 8 schools will compete against another. The schools will compete in two events: the Mystery Challenge, and their CAMPUS AWARDS closing awards ceremony, which chosen Presentation (they can choose between the World Travel Market, the Keynote Presentation). Each campus will hold its own takes place at a world-famous awards ceremony, with trophies London venue and is attended by awarded for the best performance VIP guests – ambassadors, cultural Grand Final • 10 SCHOOLS of every event in each group. attachés and business leaders from participating countries. The top two schools from each previous There will also be a ‘Fair Play’ group will go through to the Grand Final, award for the school that has The ceremony celebrates the where they will compete in the BEO Debate contributed most to their campus achievements and effort of all 2.0 and a Mystery Challenge. and shown the best team spirit, participating teams, as well as the WORLD-CLASS LOCATION along with awards for the talent second and third-place runners- Winner Previous locations have included show and individual excellence. up and the much-anticipated RUNNER UP the Odeon Leicester Square, the announcement of the British English ExCeL Centre, the Dominion THIRD PLACE GRAND AWARDS Olympics champions. Each school Theatre and the Theatre Royal – the biggest theatre in the West CEREMONY AND PRIZES is awarded a plaque of participation, End of London. The climax of the annual British and individual students receive a English Olympics is the glittering competition medal and certificate.

12 13 ELIGIBILITY AND CULTURAL DESTINATIONS London REGISTRATION PROGRAMME Oxford or Cambridge Portsmouth and/or Stratford-upon-Avon Find out how you London, Oxford, Portsmouth – just and your school can some of the places you’ll go with us. join us at the British Alongside the academic events of the competition, students will also go on exciting cultural and historical visits during their two-week stay English Olympics. LONDON ATTRACTIONS in the UK. Three full-day visits to London, a full day in Oxford and a The BEO is a highly academic trip to the seaside at Portsmouth are all included in the programme. Big Ben and the programme and we recommend UK Houses of Parliament you select 10 to 20 of the most Before going on these organised trips, students will attend our Culture Buckingham Palace gifted students from your school Workshops: these will prepare them for the visits and introduce them The Tower of London to participate. to the most important aspects of British culture and history. Westminster Abbey ELIGIBILITY Please complete the registration form and return it to your local representative.

To enter the competition, schools MUSEUMS must meet the following criteria: The British Museum • Students must be between The National Gallery 12-16 years of age. • Students must be accompanied Timeline by a dedicated teacher having a very high level of English. Schools register for Teams prepare for the events as part of their the competition extra-curricular programme at school To assess your eligibility, one of NOTABLE SITES our academic team will visit or APRIL SEPTEMBER APRIL arrange a Skype call to discuss Trafalgar Square your entry to the competition and present the programme to Schools will be able to download guidelines from our website containing Oxford Street your students. full details of the competition events and how to prepare Leicester Square The London Eye Tower Bridge Questions?

Leading up to the competition, our academic support staff are available to answer any questions you may have during preparation. Telephone: +44 (0)20 8293 1188 • Email: [email protected] • Web: www.oxfordinternationaljuniors.com/beo

14 15 LOCATIONS AND ACCOMMODATION

We host our competition at some of the best private boarding schools in England.

To host the British English Olympics, with packed lunches when day we partner with some of the finest trips are taken. Sites are highly schools in the country, set in secure, with combination codes stunning locations and surrounded for dormitory access, security by beautiful English countryside. patrols and CCTV cameras.

All our partner schools are situated Oxford International staff are within two hours of London with housed in the same buildings easy access to international airports. as the students and are available All have large common rooms, and 24/7 should any issues arise. meals are provided on campus,

PAST LOCATIONS HAVE INCLUDED THE FOLLOWING SCHOOLS:

STRATFORD- CAMBRIDGE UPON-AVON

STANSTED AIRPORT OXFORD LONDON

Bradfield HEATHROW College AIRPORT

GATWICK AIRPORT Benenden Christ’s Ardingly School Hospital College School

PORTSMOUTH ENGLISH CHANNEL

16 17 CHRIST’S HOSPITAL SCHOOL

From the moment you arrive you’ll see that Christ’s Hospital is a very special place. As well as sweeping sports fields, there are a range of Featured facilities architecturally beautiful buildings designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren, the architect of St Paul’s Cathedral.

Outstanding historic dining hall that Purpose-built replica of has an incredible likeness to the Shakespeare’s Globe theatre dining hall at Hogwarts in Harry Potter for performances

Student common areas have Classrooms are purpose satellite TV and DVD access -built with SMART boards

Sports facilities include over 100 acres of grounds with tennis courts, football pitches and a swimming pool

ACCOMMODATION GETTING THERE Students will stay in double London Heathrow (LHR): 1 hour or quadruple rooms. London Gatwick (LGW): 30 minutes London Stansted (STN): 2 hours

Explore the school at www.christs-hospital.org.uk

18 19 ARDINGLY COLLEGE

Ardingly was found in 1858 and occupies a 420-acre site located in an area of outstanding natural beauty in West Sussex. This stunning school is set against the idyllic backdrop of a large lake and rolling countryside.

Featured facilities

Beautiful main hall and Well-equipped sports performance spaces and leisure facilities

Swimming pool and large gymnasium

ACCOMMODATION GETTING THERE Students will stay in double London Heathrow (LHR): 1 hour or quadruple rooms. London Gatwick (LGW): 30 minutes London Stansted (STN): 2 hours

Explore the college at www.ardingly.com

20 21 BRADFIELD COLLEGE

Bradfield College dates from the 19th century and occupies its own village in the Berkshire countryside – including a beautiful Anglican church where Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, was baptised. Featured facilities

Purpose-built theatre and Beautiful outdoor performance space Greek amphitheatre

A stunning Anglican Recently built church on campus music school

Sports facilities include a swimming pool and astro-turf pitches

ACCOMMODATION GETTING THERE Students stay in single-sex boarding London Heathrow (LHR): 90 minutes houses that are close to the London Gatwick (LGW): 2 hours classrooms and dining hall. London Stansted (STN): 3 hours

Explore the college at www.bradfieldcollege.org.uk

22 23 BENENDEN SCHOOL

Founded in 1923, Benenden School has been one of the leading boarding schools in Britain for the last 90 years.

The school occupies an impressive Victorian mansion situated in 240 acres of beautiful parkland in the heart of Kent – the county commonly known as “the garden of England”.

Featured facilities

Sports centre and Indoor swimming pool outdoor sports areas

Design and 300-seat theatre and drama Technology centre teaching complex

ACCOMMODATION GETTING THERE Students stay in a mixture of single London Heathrow (LHR): 90 minutes and multi-bedded rooms, with London Gatwick (LGW): 70 minutes shared bathroom facilities. London Stansted (STN): 2 hours

Explore the school at www.benenden.kent.sch.uk

24 25 STUDENT Our experienced staff are on site and available 24 hours a day. It is their role to ensure that students settle in, make WELFARE friends and use English throughout their stay in the UK. They also accompany and look after students on visits and meet them at the airport when they arrive. The welfare and safety of your students is our number one priority. Each campus has its own dedicated Welfare Officer and Student Advice Bureau, which We want our students to have a great educational students can visit at any time if they have a experience with us at the British English Olympics, problem or need support or information. both academically and culturally. Although it is an intensive, challenging competition, we aim to give students a fun and memorable time here, whilst giving parents the peace of mind that they are happy and well looked after. We have at least one staff member trained in During the competition, the safety, security and First Aid at each centre, as well as a doctor on wellbeing of all students is extremely important call. Parents should notify us of any medical conditions in advance of arrival. to us. From the careful selection of our partner campuses and recruitment of our staff, to the academic and cultural programme design and delivery, we take a number of measures to ensure that welfare is safeguarded.

Upon arrival, students will have a compulsory induction, during which they will receive information about emergency procedures and the code of conduct expected of them while they are here.

We follow British Council and English UK guidelines very carefully.

We are also founder members of Young Learners English UK – a special interest group run by English UK, committed to maintaining high standards for junior courses with a strong focus on student welfare. You can find out more at www.yleuk.com.

26 27 OXFORD INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES

Once the contest is over, we offer a range of outstanding educational trips throughout Europe and the UK.

The British English Olympics is just one of a variety of educational programmes that we organise for young people throughout the year. Many students and schools continue their journey with Oxford International on one of our other programmes:

BEO MASTERS BUCKSMORE EDUCATION NAVIGATOR Are you interested in the business world Bucksmore runs high quality, fun Over 1,000 BEO students enjoy a fun, and how you can be part of it when you and educational English language educational trip at the end of their leave school? The BEO Masters is a mini- summer schools for 11 to 17-year- BEO course. Join them to explore new MBA/entrepreneurship competition for olds, based in a variety of prestigious European cities, visit iconic sights and students aged 16-18 years old. Students locations – including Oxford and experience new cultures. Our join us in teams of 5+ to compete in this Cambridge colleges. programmes are designed to stimulate residential two-week programme. young minds and can be adjusted to suit Where: your group’s needs. Where: Oxford and Cambridge Boarding Schools in London Where: When: Popular tours include: Paris and Disney; When: July and August Brussels and Amsterdam; Scotland; Italy; Spring and Summer (two-week Berlin and Madrid programmes) Programme includes: • Between 15-25 hours a week When: Programme includes: of specialised tuition At the end of the BEO programme, but • Morning business lectures • Classes taught in small tours can be arranged year-round • Afternoons: Product development tutorial groups Programme includes: sessions, including writing a business • Transport, accommodation and meals plan and preparation for a final pitch • Full afternoon and evening • A full visits programme (museums, social/visits programme • Evenings: inspiring talks technical visits, attractions) by entrepreneurs • Trinity spoken English exam included • Subject-specific programmes if • Visits to businesses required (e.g. art, history, business, • Courses include Young Leaders • 5 full-day visits to attractions languages) and World University Preparation and locations • 24/7 assistance

Find out more at Find out more at Find out more at www.oxfordinternationaljuniors.com/ www.bucksmore.com www.oxfordinternational.com/ masters

28 29 CONTACT US

Get in touch with us today to find out more

To find out more about the British English Olympics, or to apply, please contact your local Oxford International representative; alternatively, you can contact us directly at the details below. Our staff will be more than happy to answer any questions you have and help you with the process of applying and organising the trip.

We look forward to seeing you in the Spring!

Telephone: +44 (0)20 8293 1188 Email: [email protected] Web: www.oxfordinternationaljuniors.com/beo

Oxford International Education Group 259 Greenwich High Road London, SE10 8NB, UK