WSET student numbers recover to the highest level ever despite Covid-19 and Chinese government ban
The latest WSET academic year for 2020/21 has seen 108,584 students undertake WST courses, a new record despite the Covid 19 global pandemic and the Chinese government imposing a blanket ban on all courses run in their country.
The previous record was set at 108,529 students in the 2018/19. 2019/2020 saw a drop of 12% due to the effects of Covid-19. In February 2021 the Chinese government banned all WSET courses from being taught in China. This was because of a law change in China that required all charities to be registered with the Chinese government, according to an exclusive interview given by Ian Harris to the UK Wine Show. WSET are planning a return to China at the end of 2021 but in the meantime, the lack of Chinese students meant that the USA was WSET's largest single market with over 20,000 students registering in America.
