EC, a Maltese-owned group of English language centres, has been nominated for the prestigious Language Travel Magazine Star Awards 2007.

The Star Awards for International Education are organised by Language Travel Magazine, which is the leading international language industry publication distributed to 36,000 professionals across 110 countries. Monthly issues provide a comprehensive insight into all aspects of the language training and travel industry.

The awards, now in their second year, “recognise organisations’ excellence in business performance” says Language Travel Magazine.

Nominations are made by hundreds of agents, who place confidential votes for their preferred “Star” from hundreds of language schools and educational centres.

This year, EC has been nominated for two categories: the “Star Chain Language School” category and “Star Innovation”.

For the category “Star Chain Language School” (schools that have five or more centres) EC was one of five schools out of a total of 27 nominations to be short listed. Andrew Mangion, EC group’s CEO and managing director said: “I am particularly proud of this achievement, as the votes come directly from our partners. This is a clear sign of approval of the great work done at our schools in Malta, the UK and South Africa, as well as our head office in Malta.”

In the category of “Star Innovation”, EC has received the nomination for its new and daring programme Explore China.

This new programme is based in Beijing, where students learn Mandarin, the most spoken language on earth, whilst being immersed in the Chinese culture and its people. Students also visit the fascinating top “must sees” of this captivating country.

“These nominations are a direct result of the quality team that we have at EC” said Mr Mangion. “We are thrilled to have received this recognition of achievement and innovation. Being nominated for two awards against stiff competition is very rewarding for everyone”.

Having begun international expansion in 2002, EC today owns year-round operating centres for adult students in London, Cambridge, Brighton, Cape Town and has its first and largest school in Malta. Summer Junior programmes for eight to 18-year-olds are held in EC’s UK and Malta schools.

In 2006, EC welcomed students from over 76 different countries, providing an international experience in its centres. www.ec

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