Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to help increase the number of visits by UK schools to EU countries.

The Department does not request or record data on school trips that have been independently organised and funded directly by schools. The Turing Scheme, launched in the 2020/21 academic year, provides funding for UK students to work and study around the world. For the current 2023/24 academic year, the Turing Scheme is providing over £10 million in funding for 6,789 UK school pupils to take part in overseas visits, and over 4,400 of these pupils are due to visit EU countries for their Turing visits.

The Department recognises the importance of cultural and educational exchanges between the UK and other nations and will continue to support opportunities for children and young people, where appropriate.

At a recent UK and France summit, the UK committed to making the travel of school groups from France to the UK easier by changing the documentary requirements for pupils on organised trips from France. France committed to ensuring appropriate mechanisms are in place for visa free travel for pupils travelling on organised school trips from the UK and to facilitating the passage of those groups through the border.