Around the World in 30 Episodes: Cambridge's Global Teaching Podcast
social media views
charts hit worldwide
countries filmed on location
Overview
Cambridge University Press & Assessment has been shaping education for over 150 years. Their global network of English teachers - from primary classrooms in Barcelona to universities in Vietnam - represents one of the most connected communities in education. But a blog only goes so far. They came to Podcast Labs with something bigger in mind: a premium podcast that would bring those teacher stories to life, in their own words, from their own classrooms.
Grow: A Podcast from Cambridge was born from that ambition. Launched in January 2025 across YouTube and all major audio platforms, it has since become the podcast that travels - quite literally - to where its guests live and teach. Shot in 4K across nine countries and counting, it's one of the most ambitious productions we've ever undertaken. And honestly? We wouldn't have it any other way.
Strategy
Cambridge came to Podcast Labs with a lot already in place - a clear idea, a name, and a deep understanding of their audience. So rather than starting from scratch with a full strategy programme, we ran our focused fast-track review: assessing their existing plan through a podcasting lens, sharpening the format, and making sure every decision served the teachers they wanted to reach.
From there, we crafted a bespoke trailer script designed specifically for that audience - and produced it in both audio and video format. The result? 200,000 views before a single full episode had aired. A strong signal that the show was already something people wanted.
The Show That Travels
The original plan was to record remotely. That plan changed fast when Cambridge asked us to film on-location in teachers' actual classrooms, across Europe and beyond. Season One took us to Florence, Milan, Valencia and Barcelona. The Podcast Labs team loaded an entire studio into the car: cameras, microphones, lighting rigs, the lot - and drove across the continent.
Each location was different. Each classroom was unknown until we walked through the door. And we had a couple of hours to transform it into a broadcast-quality studio. Setting up a three-camera shoot while simultaneously briefing the host, reassuring a nervous guest and keeping the whole show on the road is not for the faint-hearted. But it's exactly the kind of challenge that produces something special.
For season two we've travelled to Amsterdam, Tiel, Paris, Liverpool, London & Cambridge - and briefed partner agencies in Mexico, Brazil and Vietnam to bring even more classroom stories into the show. Every episode is delivered with the same standard of finish: full video and audio episodes, short-form trailers, social clips, show notes, website copy and social media assets. All of it premium. All of it 4K.
Grow: A Podcast from Cambridge is now recognised as "the podcast delves into personal journeys of teachers from their very own classroom" - and with over 30 episodes produced and another 10 in the pipeline, that story is still being written.
Numbers that make us proud
What makes Grow special isn't just the numbers - it's what sits behind them. A show that genuinely celebrates teachers, filmed in the spaces where they do their best work, with the kind of production quality that makes the subject matter feel as important as it is.
For us, this is the case study we point to when someone asks what an on-location podcast done properly actually looks like. Every decision was made in service of the audience.
"These episodes are well crafted and beautifully executed. They capture the essence of the environments. So...thank you! I think they will do us "proud" when they hit the ears of people."
Joe Tearle - Head of Brand - Cambridge English
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