The first thing that catches my attention is your Celtic name.
Yes — my parents gave me something from the Isle of Man, where they had lived shortly before I was born. A name most people can’t pronounce, but really it’s just a local variant of “Ian” or “John”.
You left one small island for a larger one and ended up studying in London to prepare yourself for a lifetime dedicated to education. What motivated you to leave your country to live in Italy?
I travelled around Europe when I was 17 and spent much of that time in Italy. After university, I decided to go back and learn something of the language.
Singing is one of your great hobbies. Do you dare to sing in Italian?
Yes, all the time — but only in the shower!
Obviously, your experience in language schools is an asset to your current job. You have been more focused on training teachers than students.
Up to a point. I taught English to students for about six or seven years, as well as taking on other roles — administration, accommodation, even social programmes — and then gradually developed a stronger focus on teacher training.
Since 2012 at English UK, you surely did not think that the world would change so much between then and now.
Predicting the future has always been a fool’s game. Maybe Brexit was anticipated by some people, but no one saw Covid coming. I think the changes the pandemic brought have been profound and longer-lasting than we yet realise. However, the desire to travel and see the world has never been stronger, and English as the world’s language is not going away any time soon — we just need the right mix of programmes, courses and experiences to meet people’s needs.
What is your mission at English UK?
We talk about “harnessing the collective energy” of the industry. I strongly believe in the people and institutions that make it up. If we can help them develop their programmes and focus on quality, then collectively we are all stronger. Ultimately, English UK is about helping people — new schools looking to find their first agents, those who have been in the sector for some time and need a new direction or new markets, or those frustrated by visa issues or new legislation. Above all, it is about providing the leadership the industry needs.
In 2016, the Brexit referendum bomb exploded and changed everything. Unfortunately, the UK is now a more closed place.
Maybe so, but there are recent signs that things are turning. The government wants to reset Brexit and even reverse some of its more harmful effects. Issues such as youth mobility and Erasmus+, and even the UK rejoining the EU customs union, are back on the agenda for the first time in years. The direction of travel is positive for 2026.
With the closure of schools, some of them long-established, what changes or adaptations are necessary for educational institutions to remain relevant and sustainable in the current context?
First, institutions need to analyse what they must change to attract more students. Different markets want different things — you can’t be all things to all students and partners, so where does your focus lie? Even if you have students year-round, are you profitable? Do you have the skills needed for innovation and for developing a sustainable business model? If not, where can you find people who can bridge those gaps? Is collaboration the answer — new partners, or even working with other schools that bring different skills? Can technology help, not just academically but also in business processes? And what can we learn from other industries and the wider travel sector?
It seems that today, experience is valued more as a driver of life transformation — through learning and intercultural understanding — than grammar itself.
Yes, but I don’t think this is a new phenomenon. You don’t need to travel to the UK or another English-speaking country to learn English grammar, but how will you apply your learning and skills? General English programmes have always included elements of cultural exchange — getting students out into the community to practise, refine their knowledge and learn more about life and work. Perhaps we need to rebrand and focus more on outcomes, with English as the medium to achieve them.
How will English UK help the industry in the coming years?
We need to ensure that we are the unified voice of the industry when speaking to governments, overseas ministries and all organisations that contribute to the growth of our sector. To do this, we must represent English language centres of all kinds — state and private, adults and juniors, new and established. We also need to segment our approach to meet different needs while maintaining a unified message. In addition, we must help centres become more sustainable, both environmentally and financially, and reconsider key relationships between schools, agents, parents and students.
You are one of those British people who live in a different city from where they work and commute by train. Is East Sussex the final destination?
Who knows where the final destination is?
Interview conducted by Pablo Martínez de Velasco Astray, President of ASEPROCE.
