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overtaken French as the most popular A-Level in England and is also set to become the most popular GCSE language by 2026, according to the British Council’s Language Trends 2022 report. It’s a growth that former teacher, Maria Torres Giron has noticed, having set up her business Olé Spanish in 2002, and franchising in 2019. “Now I’m seeing that there are more and more companies that are coming to join the trend, which is amazing because I believe language acquisition has to happen as early as possible,” she says. Additional competition in the Spanish learning sector comes with challenges for franchisees such as capturing the market in what could become a congested space. However, Maria says choosing the right brand is intrinsic to being successful, regardless of the noise. “Like with most things quantity does not always translate to quality,” she warns. It’s consistency in quality that Olé Spanish has capitalised on over the past two decades, with Maria creating textbooks that are rolled out across the brand’s six locations. The business also has multiple revenue streams which cater to babies all the way through to adults, ensuring that the customer’s lifespan is maximised for franchisees. “I’ve had a student who joined us at the age of five and left at the age of 18,” says Maria. “One student has taken lessons for 15 years with us and she’s now fluent. We also have our youthful 85-year-old student. She’s been coming for about seven years and she was 83 when she came to our first immersion camp in Salamanca. She’s now planning to travel with us again this year.” Olé Spanish is currently in a recruitment drive, and franchisees who have recently invested are doing well, despite the cost-of-living crisis. A variety of teaching styles and price tags Reliance on textbooks while teaching languages to children is a common criticism of linguistic education within the UK. In response, several franchise brands appear to have focused on moving away from such a huge emphasis on grammatical rules, and instead are centring their DO I NEEDTO SPEAK LANGUAGESTOOWNA FRANCHISE? Some franchises will require investors to speak the language that’s being taught by the brand, as often franchisees will be on the ground teaching classes. For example, Les Petit Pois Fun French requires franchisees to speak French in order to invest. Meanwhile, other brands enable franchisees who don’t speak the language to invest but this will usually require some understanding of the culture, as well as the recruitment of skilled language teachers, which is an additional cost. Olé Spanish, Language for Fun, and Helen Doron Educational Group have management franchise opportunities available. unique selling points around play and language exposure, which encourages young students to absorb information in a much more natural way. For Milena Jurasz-Cruz, franchisor at El Recreo Spanish, classes aimed at the youngest children are delivered through nursery rhymes, which has provided an opportunity for inclusivity – something that often goes amiss in classic Spanish textbooks. “We understand that in INS IGHT 18 WHAT FRANCHISE | ISSUE 19.3 CHILDREN’S SERVICES SPECIAL