2022 turned out to be a very successful year for Rockbrook International, despite the many challenges faced during the Covid pandemic, some of which are still being felt. Here we take a brief look back at what happened over that dramatic time.
It hit us like a tsunami
March 2020 was the first lockdown. At first, it was not clear how long things would last. In the office we even wondered could our international students wait here for Irish schools to reopen. Suddenly it became very clear. We had to get all our students home, urgently, through all the chaos. There were severe restrictions on international travel. Flights were being canceled by the hour. Countries enforced their different restrictions, some draconian. It was a very dramatic time. Nevertheless, over a period of 4-5 days, we managed to get everyone home safely (around 150 students). It was a great relief when the last student passed through the security gate at Dublin airport.
At the same time, we were left with many doubts and concerns about the future of a business that had just evaporated before our eyes. Schools were closed. People couldn’t travel. Everyone was at home. The prospects for Rockbrook International, as a business, seemed close to zero.
The remaining months of the 2019/2020 school year were spent working from home and trying to plan ahead for a very uncertain future. No more than anyone else, we had no idea how long the consequences of the pandemic would last (weeks? months? years?). At the same time, we also kept in regular contact with our friends and clients abroad, asking the inevitable questions about if or when they thought they could start sending students again. Naturally, they shared the international uncertainty. They simply didn’t know. But they frequently said that they wanted to come as soon as they could. That much, at least, was reassuring.
2020-21 school year: trying to survive
As expected, 2020/21 was a quiet year. Despite the tight restrictions in place we still had 25 brave students enrolled in our programmes. They were a mix of day and boarding school students from Hong Kong, Japan, Germany, Spain, and Venezuela. As one can imagine, during this period there were severe restrictions on running an international programme. We had to adapt quickly to the continually changing government restrictions about meetings, travel, the opening of venues, and so on.
In the early months of the school year, most students had to quarantine for two weeks on arrival (later this was reduced to a week of self-isolating). At several periods in the year, students were at home doing online classes. For the majority of 2020/21, our Saturday plans had to be canceled due to the 5 km restrictions and the closure of most activity centers. On some Saturdays, we were able to organise outdoor excursions like a hike or a visit to the zoo which the students enjoyed.
The academic year finished on a more positive note with much lighter restrictions in place in Ireland. International travel was permitted again and the vaccine passports were scrapped. A more optimistic mood took hold, in stark contrast to the fear and anxiety of the preceding year.
2021-22 school year: recovery, life returns
The 2021/22 school year was a key turning point for us. The school groups came back! School groups are a vital part of our business and they make up a large part of our annual student intake. Fomento was the first group to return in September 2021 bringing a large group of boys and girls for a 15-week stay. Other returning groups were Gaztelueta (Bilbao), Retamar (Madrid), Arenales (Madrid), and Ecuador. It was a great moment for us to have them back and a strong indicator that things could be returning to normality.
Our office became a busy place again with the daily comings and goings of group leaders, students, and visiting clients. Much to our relief, the returning demand from abroad was strong. Compared to the previous year our student numbers grew quickly. As the fear levels subsided Irish schools and host families were much more open to taking international students.
Challenges remained, however. For example, host families were frequently still reluctant or unable to host students from abroad, for lots of reasons. Spare bedrooms had been converted to offices. People were still working from home. The lack of new host families became a problem and a bottleneck in growth.
Our Saturday activities and mid-term plans were able to go ahead without disruption and the Cambridge exams were available again. Our student numbers for the year reached well over 200, which was remarkable. The school year ended with a huge feeling of satisfaction for a job well done and quite calm about the future of Rockbrook International.
2022-23 school year: looking good
So far 2022/23 has been a very positive year. Student numbers continue to grow. In September short stay groups like Munabe, Alcaste, Ayalde, and Ezkibel returned to our programmes. We even expanded our operations to the Midlands to deal with the increased demand for places. While the demand for our services has returned strongly, challenges remain on the supply side (host families and school places). These restraints will probably take time to overcome. But the future for Rockbrook International and for the industry as a whole is looking bright.