A former visual arts tutor has launched her own business supporting international students into creative higher education courses across the UK.
Wendy Pye, was working for 12 years as a visual arts tutor for Studygroup Brighton, a leading educational provider that prepares international students for university degree programmes.
When she was made redundant in 2021 due to the pandemic and travel restrictions affecting international students coming over to the UK, she had the idea to create Artway UK.
Artway is an online learning platform that mentors prospective international students to take the next steps towards Creative Arts Higher Education in the UK, so they feel confident and prepared to succeed at degree and post graduate degree level study. She said:
“Foundation preparation courses for international students are often very expensive and are not adequately tailored to suit differences in students’ abilities and English levels. I thought all the help prospective students need to apply to UK University and support preparing them for the transition into the higher education system in the UK could be done online, with bespoke 1-1 tutored lesson plans suited for their specific needs.”
According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, Creative Arts courses are one of the most popular courses for international students to study in the UK, with 32,890 international students enrolling for 2017-2018.
English language barriers are one of the most common challenges non-native English speaking international students face as well as adjusting to British culture and different study skills that UK degrees require. Wendy said:
“Even though international students have to pass an IELTS exam to progress on to a degree course in the UK, this doesn’t fully prepare them to communicate in English about their subject. Students from non-native English speaking countries are often not prepared for subject specific language as well as use to the range of accents and attitudes associated with Britain. They are also not aware of the different study skills required for art, design or media courses, which can have a big impact on their confidence to fully thrive”
Artway has a pool of experienced freelance tutors to help students apply and prepare for UK creative higher education courses. These include an IELTS and academic English tutor who has been working in the industry for over 30 years, and experienced fine arts, visual arts, 3D, and media lecturers. The staff will all provide support based on custom lesson plans tailored to the students’ needs.
Online learning has become a huge sector. According to Globe News Wire the global e-learning market will reach $457.8 billion by 2026.
However, face-to-face arts teaching remains respected and desirable in the UK. Wendy hopes that her business will open the playing field and offer a more affordable option to those international students who already have the qualifications to study at H.E level but need some extra guidance and support to prepare them for the challenges of degree study in The UK.
“My business will help to create more business in Art, Design and Media teaching across Britain. Students are savvy and know what could be taught effectively online but also what remains important in person. We need to react to the global shift towards e-learning and give international students more value for money.”
Artway hopes to take on its first students over this summer, in preparation for the 2022-23 academic year.
Wendy said that there is scope for the business to expand in the future: “I chose Artway deliberately as a name. I don’t see why the business can’t expand to offer Scienceway, or a Mathsway!”
