BBSN Timeline

We set up and ran the first British Boarding Schools' Workshop (BBSW) which sold out in 2 weeks. Held in Richmond, London with 30 schools and 45 agencies.

Moved the event to Beaumont House in Windsor.

We grew to two events per year in March and November. We added in an International Marketing Conference and Fam Trips for agents to visit schools.

Moved the event to Wokefield Park in Reading.

Introduced training sessions prior to the BBSW. 

We had an indoor British-themed 'Street Party' at the BBSW evening event.

Launched British Boarding Schools' Connected – a membership scheme with a portal to facilitate an online community for schools and agents.

Moved the event to Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel at Heathrow, London and celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the company. 

Rebranded the company to the British Boarding Schools’ Network (BBSN), continuing to provide a membership scheme and the British Boarding Schools’ Workshops (BBSW). 

Produced our first and largest International Market Report based on an agent survey in the Top 30 Markets for British boarding schools.

We changed the structure of the membership, so schools and agents became members of the Network and we no longer used the brand name 'Connected'. We expanded the range of member services to include Networking days.

Covid pandemic struck. Lockdown came just two weeks after the March Workshop.

We adapted quickly to provide individual member support via scheduled Zoom calls. We ran a series of country masterclasses, training webinars, and market updates delivered live online by our global network of experienced agents, and via survey reports.

In July we ran a five-day long virtual BBSW free of charge for members to support them during the pandemic. Schools and agents ran pre-scheduled 20-minute meetings via Skype.

We ran four further virtual Workshops in 2020 and 2021, each with more than 300 participants.

With 2000 staff in over 240 schools and 450 agent offices, our membership continued to grow. We expanded the BBSN Team to include several sector-experts with many years' experience in British boarding schools.  

Introduced the new BBSN Agent Membership Programme to formalise our rigorous screening and reference-checking of agents and to further enhance processes.

The first batch of BBSN Approved Agents received their new status and BBSN Approved Agent logo and certificate.

In November we held our largest ever in-person British Boarding Schools’ Workshop (BBSW) with over 320 delegates. This was at the first post-pandemic Workshop and our community was so excited to be back together!

UKVI confirmed that member schools could use BBSN Approved Agents as part of their due diligence for sponsor compliance. This means that schools can rely on BBSN agent reference checks if they wish to do so, yet ultimate responsibility remains with the school. 

Membership continues to grow with 260+ schools and increasing numbers of agents wanting to become BBSN Approved Agents.

Launched a new website and an updated, mobile-friendly version of the BBSN members' portal. 

We continue to be driven by our values - to innovate and improve our services to further support the changing recruitment needs of our schools and agents, and to continue to offer excellent value for money.