Global Study Group

Bournemouth

Bournemouth is a large town and tourist resort, situated on the south coast of England. With a population of 164,000 it is the largest settlement in the ceremonial county of Dorset, though in the historic county of Hampshire. The town is a regional centre of education and business, and forms the main part of the South East Dorset conurbation, with the adjoining town of Poole. It is also the largest town on the English south coast between Southampton and Plymouth. The town is most notable as the home of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, The Arts Institute at Bournemouth as well as Bournemouth University and the Bournemouth International Centre. The town is also home to several financial companies including JPMorgan Chase, Nationwide Building Society, Liverpool Victoria and Standard Life. In a recent survey by First Direct Bank, Bournemouth was found to be the happiest place in Britain with 82% of people questioned saying they were happy with their life.

Climate and tourism
Bournemouth is also in an area of England with a mild climate and a section of the coast that enjoys some of the warmest, driest and sunniest weather in Britain, especially in the summer. Because of this and the town's proximity to the New Forest, Jurassic Coast, Devon and the Dorset and Hampshire countryside, Bournemouth is a historically popular tourist destination.

Education
The Bournemouth local education authority was first set up in 1903 and remained in existence until local government was reorganised in 1974 when Bournemouth lost its County Borough status and became part of the county of Dorset. Under the later reforms of 1997, Bournemouth became a unitary authority and the Bournemouth local education authority was re-established.
Bournemouth is one of the minority of local authorities in England still to maintain selective education, with two grammar schools (one for boys, one for girls) and eight secondary modern/comprehensive schools.
There are also a small number of independent schools in the town, and a further education college.
The town also has its own internationally recognised university - Bournemouth University the main campus of which is actually is in neighbouring Poole. The Arts Institute at Bournemouth, officially in Poole, is a small HEI (university) specialising in arts, design and media degree courses. Bournemouth is also a major centre for the teaching of English and has numerous English language schools. Many thousands of foreign students are attracted to the town every year, an important form of invisible trade.

Economy
Many well-known global businesses were started in the Bournemouth area and many have later chosen to relocate their headquarters to Bournemouth because of the relatively low prices in comparison with London.

The following is a non-exhaustive list:
JPMorgan Chase - its European headquarters employs around 10,000 people
Portman Building Society
UISL, part of the Unisys group of companies
Fitness First was started in Bournemouth and its headquarters are in the neighbouring town of Poole
McCarthy & Stone
Liverpool Victoria formally Frizzell Insurance
Barclays Bank has a major IT centre in Poole
Rias Insurance company has a major office in Bournemouth
Standard Life has a large office in Bournemouth
Lloyds TSB Insurance has its call centre in Bournemouth