More children educated in British schools overseas Harrow School and Dulwich College were among the first to open schools in the Far East. Wellington College has now expanded into China, Repton School has a replica campus in Dubai, Haileybury College has opened a sister school in Kazakhstan, Brighton College has one in Abu Dhabi, Shrewsbury School has a satellite in Bangkok and North London Collegiate School has opened a campus in South Korea. World Class Learning Group, a London-based firm which operates nine international day schools in countries such as the US, Qatar and Spain, said it had witnessed "phenomenal growth in demand" recently. Many international schools were initially set up serve expatriate communities, it was claimed, but have seen a surge in demand from local parents in recent years, particularly in the Middle and Far East. Hugh MacPherson, WCL chief executive, said: "People are effectively buying an educational passport that gives them greater access to the world's best universities and increases their chances of getting a good job. Previously, parents in these countries were orientated towards local schools, local universities and then expected their children to get a local job. But as the economies in emerging nations have boomed, so people have started to look beyond their own backyard for educational opportunities. Figures published by the International Private Schools Education Forum, and compiled by ISC Research, show that 2,584 "British-style" schools were open in 2000, educating around 970,000 pupils. By 2010, numbers had grown to 5,689 and some 6,327 were in operation two years later. They now teach 3.1m pupils, with an annual fee income of £20.6 billion, it emerged. Official forecasts suggest that the number of schools will continue to soar in recent years, particularly on the back of economic growth in Asia. The figures estimate that the number of schools will grow to around 8,500 within the next five years and almost double to 11,300 by 2022. UAE currently accounts for the most English schools, with around 370. This is followed by Pakistan, China, India, Japan, Span, Indonesia, Germany, Hong Kong and Thailand.