Key trends in Asian and Middle Eastern markets
British schools are increasingly looking at new opportunities and new markets in Asia and the Middle East, but cultural, regulatory and financial restrictions mean that they have to plan carefully. Increasingly, aspirational middle class families want their children to speak and learn in English, but they also prioritise an education that maintains the values and language of their own culture, as Marianne Curphey reports.
2 June 2026
Growing demand for international education in Asia
Across Asia, there is a lot of value placed on education by families. Their spend per household is way higher than in most parts of the world. This is driven by a real aspiration in growing economies among the aspirational middle class. The key question for many families is: How do we give competitive advantage to our children? One answer is through English acquisition, and another is through access to universities outside their own country.However, Alex McGrath, owner and founder of Castlegate Education, explains that many families do not want this to be at the expense of their own culture.“One trend in more sophisticated markets such as Malaysia and Thailand is growing concern among elites that international schools, whether British, American or Australian, are starting to erode children's national identity,” he explains.“Thai children, for instance, may attend an international school, be taught in English, spend time with international peers, and develop a frame of reference shaped by international media. As a result, they may lose some grounding in Thai culture.”Many parents want their children to gain English proficiency, study abroad and then return home to run Thai companies. If students lose that cultural frame of reference, they may struggle to re-access that world. Alex says this is an area where many UK schools are not adapting or thinking carefully enough about how they manage the balance between international education and local identity.Lessons from the UAE
He says the UAE provides a contrasting model. From the beginning, regulators have been clear that international schools must include Islamic studies, Arabic and other local elements within the curriculum. Thailand has not taken the same approach, which means schools need to be careful moving forward. Otherwise, they risk becoming less relevant at a time when demand is changing and, in some places, shrinking.“If students are expected to return home and run companies or represent international businesses in their own countries, they need to be able to operate confidently within local society,” he explains. “A similar dynamic emerged in China and contributed to tighter government regulation of international education. If schools want to find a genuine point of difference, one opportunity is ensuring that the curriculum serves both the local community and the international community at the same time. Schools that successfully combine global education with local cultural relevance may be better positioned for long-term success.”Migration and new education markets
The world is becoming increasingly globalised and economic and political pressures mean that families are prepared to leave their home countries and relocate abroad if they feel that will be an advantage.A major trend is increased movement of people within Asia and from other regions into destinations such as Europe and "golden visa" countries like Portugal. This movement often brings new customers and new expectations about education.“This includes large numbers of Chinese families relocating to Thailand for economic reasons,” Alex says. “There are Russians moving to the Middle East, the Balkans and Greece because of favourable visa schemes. Schools in Greece serving both Russian and Ukrainian families living together peacefully despite geopolitical tensions.”However, Chinese families have increasingly limited access to international education at school level within China. As a result, many are seeking alternatives abroad, often closer to home than Europe or North America. This is creating opportunities for international schools in countries such as Thailand and Malaysia, which are increasingly attracting Chinese families.“Many Thai families maintain homes in Bangkok specifically so their children can attend international schools,” he says. However, there has been a rapid proliferation of new schools. This raises questions about whether sufficient market analysis has been undertaken.“Some schools may have begun projects several years ago and continued development without fully recognising how quickly market conditions were changing,” he explains.Japan is currently attracting significant interest from international school operators. However, the population of children is declining, as in many advanced economies.“Schools need to be careful when assessing the size of the addressable market,” he says. “A major challenge is that Japanese students cannot access Japanese universities without a Japanese diploma. A school positioning itself solely as a British or IB school is effectively telling Japanese families that the primary pathway leads overseas. This limits the market to families with parents educated abroad, international-Japanese mixed families, and expatriate families working in Japan.”The continuing appeal of international expansion
Alex says many UK schools that previously viewed international expansion as too difficult, expensive or risky are now looking overseas as a source of new revenue. There has been a long-running question about whether the window is closing for new brands. Yet opportunities continue to emerge globally, and while some markets become more difficult, others open up.“For example, Korea has not fully taken off because of regulatory challenges,” he says. “Taiwan remains largely untapped and Cambodia has seen both successful openings and school closures. British education continues to hold strong brand value across Asia, and with the right investment partners there remain significant opportunities.”The key difficulty in Korea is that schools cannot operate as profit-making entities. As a result, the Korean government requires a British charitable institution to stand behind any Korean branch operation. This creates additional complexity for schools considering entry into the market.He says one of the most important lessons is that British schools need strong local partners and networks.“If schools are to provide something that is authentically British, they must understand local conditions and work closely with local operators. Some UK brands have become highly involved in overseas operations, ensuring genuine links to the home institution. Others have historically taken a lighter-touch approach, effectively licensing the brand and allowing overseas operators significant autonomy. Today there is much greater understanding that authenticity matters.”Schools increasingly recognise that they must be active participants in overseas operations rather than simply selling their name.“Schools that have been successful have concentrated on creating closer links between the home institution and partner schools abroad, ensuring consistency, quality and authenticity across the network.”Emerging trends in the Middle East
The preference for schools that maintain the local culture, language and values of the home country is particularly visible in the Middle East, says Mandy Edmond, Vice Principal, Head of Enterprise and Strategic Partnerships at Norland, Bath.“Government and schools in the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) are ahead of many other places in the world in having such a strong focus on early childhood and getting it right for our youngest children” she says. “In UAE and Saudi Arabia, it is recognised that one of the best ways to make the world and society a better place is to support families and make sure that the people around our youngest children are able to meet their needs effectively by being knowledgeable, skilled and attuned to their needs.“There has been a real focus on the family unit as a result of the desire of the leadership to put families front and centre of their policymaking. You can see in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the Dubai Economic Agenda 2033 that the leadership is taking a really holistic approach to changing society.In Saudi Arabia there are plans to build around 1,200 new private schools by 2030 so supply and demand is going to be key. The challenge will be managing the quality of all of this new provision in order to meet that demand. There is a willingness to bring in international expertise, and find partners who can share expertise and knowledge, but it is important that international partners understand the context and cultural requirements. Partners will need to ensure that they enable important factors such as the Arabic language, the Islamic values and national identity to carried through in all the work, the training and in the school settings.
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