ISC statement following MAC report on international students
ISC chairman, Barnaby Lenon, outlines the importance of welcoming international students to the UK following the publication of a Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) report entitled 'Impact of international students in the UK'.
The MAC report was published on Tuesday 11 September. In response, Mr Lenon said:
"There are about 60,000 non-British students studying at UK independent schools and they make a valuable contribution to the UK’s economy during their time here. Many end up having a greater impact because they go on to attend a UK university, having been influenced to choose that option by their time at school.
"But UK education is in competition with other countries for international students - notably the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In recent years, our competitors have been noticeably more welcoming and have increased their numbers of international students much faster than the UK.
"In a post-Brexit world not only should we adopt a much warmer attitude towards these students, who have a positive influence on our economy, our intellectual base and our ability to understand other cultures, we also need to make it easier for them to navigate the excessively complicated mechanics of applying for a student visa."