Is the foreign exchange trip dying out in our state schools? Fears about child safety mean tradition of learning languages by staying overseas could die out

  • Research found schools abandoning trips amid fears over child safety
  • Trips are becoming preserve of pupils in fee-paying schools
  • Child safety and reluctance to let pupils go on exchanges during term-time were cited by head teachers as key reasons for the decline of the tradition

State schools are abandoning foreign exchange trips amid fears over child safety, the British Council warned today.

The 60-year-old tradition of children learning languages through twinning holidays with overseas pupils is in danger of dying out in many state secondary schools, research for the charity found.

The trips are becoming the preserve of pupils in fee-paying schools and the remaining state grammars, polling showed.

Research has found state schools are abandoning foreign exchange trips amid fears over child safety

Research has found state schools are abandoning foreign exchange trips amid fears over child safety

Concerns over child safety and a reluctance to let pupils go on exchanges during term-time were cited by head teachers as key reasons for the decline of the tradition.

Foreign exchanges, usually involving France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Russia or Scandinavia, became popular after the Second World War as a way of broadening children’s understanding of other cultures and languages.

Teachers say the schemes are invaluable for boosting language skills because children are forced to depart from English and also help forge lifelong friendships.

But a poll commissioned by the British Council, which promotes British education and culture abroad, found that just 30 per cent of heads at local authority-run secondary schools said their pupils could take part in traditional exchanges involving a home stay and just 39 per cent of principals at self-governing academies.

In contrast, 77 per cent of private school heads said that their pupils can go on this type of exchange, as did 82 per cent of grammar school head teachers.

Among schools which previously ran exchange trips, safety concerns and issues with taking students out of school during term-time were the main reasons for no longer doing s

Head teachers believe that a generation ago, the vast majority of secondary schools offered pupils the opportunity to go on an exchange.

 

A poll commissioned by the British Council (pictured) found just 30 per cent of heads at local authority-run secondary schools said their pupils could take part in traditional exchanges involving a home stay

A poll commissioned by the British Council (pictured) found just 30 per cent of heads at local authority-run secondary schools said their pupils could take part in traditional exchanges involving a home stay

In an effort to reverse the decline, the British Council today launches a campaign to promote exchanges, which will include a new set of free resources for schools to help them address parents’ child protection concerns.

Vicky Gough, schools adviser at the British Council, said: ‘For many of us, that first school exchange trip was a real “light bulb moment” that got us excited about learning a language and understanding another culture. 

'It’s a shame that these exchanges have fallen victim to things like safety concerns - which can actually be easily remedied with the right steps.

‘As we seek to tackle a national language crisis and a lack of international skills among young people entering the world of work, reviving school exchanges is vital - and we’ll do everything we can to help schools make this possible.’

Ian Bauckham, head teacher at Bennett Memorial Diocesan School in Kent, said: ‘Nothing, even extensive internet exposure in our networked age, can replace the experience of being immersed for a short period in a real foreign language environment. 

'It is the opportunity to make rapid progress in language proficiency and to learn to see life through the eyes of another culture.’

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