Case Studies

How a British International School Implemented Xello and Instantly Measured 76% Student Engagement

Xello UK Team | June 22, 2023

In February 2020, Turkey went into a national lockdown in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The British Embassy School of Ankara (BESA) found itself, like so many other schools around the world, suddenly operating a remote teaching and learning schedule.

We spoke with Tim Wilson, Art and Design, and Design and Technology teacher, International Middle Years Curriculum Leader and newly appointed Careers Counsellor, at BESA. Tim’s challenge, in his new role, was to introduce consistent careers education, information and guidance to support his Year 6 to Year 9 students.

The Challenge

Tim has responsibility for many different aspects of how BESA runs—careers and future-readiness is a small part. Tim wanted to ensure he chose a high-end product with a user interface that students would love, a reporting suite that would save him time in his busy day and one that incorporated at-a-glance reporting in evidencing BESA’s efforts to meet the Gatsby Benchmarks.

School

The British Embassy School of Ankara (BESA)

Location

Turkey

Problem

Introduce consistent careers education, information and guidance to support his Year 6 to Year 9 students.

Solution

Xello was a solution that all students could use regardless of background, leading to 76% student usage.

The Solution

Tim selected Xello as his preferred solution just ahead of Turkey’s lockdown and was able to onboard his students remotely.

Tim says, ‘The students have really taken to Xello. I particularly like that I can set them assignments and that they can reply and feedback to me directly.’

He has also noticed his Year 9 students are more ‘switched on’ about what they want to do and think more about their future options. ‘The students enjoy the assessments in Xello and I find that data useful. I feel I have more insights about each individual student, because of the student profile, which helps inform our socially distanced one-to-one conversations.’

‘Xello is intuitive—I was comfortable using it straight away. I’m very happy with Xello, it’s running smoothly and the students love it.’

The Results

‘We went from some classroom sessions to remote learning and since then, have seen 76% of our students using Xello.’

BESA’s international students come from over 30 different countries. Tim says, ‘Xello is a consistent product they can all use regardless of background and where they can all see themselves represented in the imagery and content.’

At the end of November, BESA returned to remote learning as Turkey went into its second lockdown. Unphased, Tim is confident that by continuing to use Xello remotely, students will remain motivated about their futures.

About the School

The British School of Ankara (BESA) is a co-educational school located in Turkey with around 200 students. They’re committed to enabling children to leave school not only having made outstanding progress but as global citizens who have the confidence to lead with creativity, integrity and a passion for their chosen pursuits.

About Xello

Xello is an engaging, online program that helps secondary school students define their future goals and transform their aspirations into actionable plans for success. The program puts students at the centre of their future planning journey. It helps them build self-knowledge, explore their options, create a plan, and develop the skills needed to thrive in the world of work. With over 50 years of experience in EdTech, our team has helped educators across the UK implement Xello to prepare students for future success.