Turing Grant Trips Abroad: A Crucial Part of Experiential Learning and Why They Must be Saved

It’s been suggested that the Turing grant scheme is under threat as part of cost-saving measures at the Department for Education.  I would appeal to ministers and officials not to take such a step, as I’ve seen firsthand just how life-changing such trips abroad can be.

If you’d asked me a few weeks ago how much I was looking forward to taking thirty-six students and four staff to Thailand for fifteen nights, I would have told you I was nervous.

I had visions of having to encourage reluctant individuals out of bed in the mornings, of cringing at their cultural insensitivities.  How wrong I was.

Experiential learning is extremely powerful and in this instance life changing.  Providing learners with an inspirational opportunity for real-life learning, enabling reflection, thinking, and acting, supports deeper understanding and retention of knowledge.  Organising innovative experiential curriculum is challenging in many ways but so very important. This is where learners are inspired and have their eyes opened to the world of career opportunities waiting out there for them.  Classrooms cannot compete with learning experiences such as these, and it is important that such opportunities are planned into curriculum at every opportunity.

Working with colleagues to plan a curriculum that provides incredible student experience and opportunity can only be made possible with the vital support of industry, employers, sponsorship and often additional funding opportunities, all of which take a great deal of time to plan and orchestrate but these opportunities transform lives.

Milton Keynes College Group applied to the DfE for a Turing Grant, to take student chefs and beauty therapists to Bangkok to learn Thai culinary and massage skills.  Anyone who’s ever applied for grants of this kind will know how many hoops there are through which to jump.  Not only has a case to be made for the educational value, but evidence shown of how it will be of particular benefit to students from disadvantaged communities and for those with special educational needs.  Discussions regarding risk assessment were a daily occurrence and a constant reminder of the importance of ensuring the management of the trip was proficient.

From writing the original bid to actually getting on the plane was almost exactly a year.  In the intervening period we’d found an appropriate travel partner, and begun to instil into the learners what would be expected of them; and they had to work for their place.

With a limit to the numbers we could take, students had to write a piece explaining why they should have a seat on the plane.  We looked at their attendance records, their history of meeting deadlines, how hard they’re working and how seriously they are taking their studies.  We interviewed them all with a fixed set of questions and analysed everything before finally announcing who had made the cut.  Many of them had never been abroad before, never been on an aircraft before.  Some had never in their lives crossed the boundaries of Milton Keynes even.  We held meetings on Monday evenings for six weeks – and I was really firm at those meetings.  I told the learners and their parents, this is not a holiday.  No, you won’t need a bikini and you need to cover up at all times.  Yes, vaping really is illegal in Thailand and if you’re caught doing it you could be arrested.   We looked at the country’s religion, the importance of respect, especially with regard to the royal family.  Frankly, they thought I was quite the ogre at times. However, I was delighted to see that the learners showed nothing but respect and appreciation throughout the trip to all staff and were an absolute pleasure, and I was proud to see them living the college values.

As well as the travel, the grant paid for disadvantaged learners’ passport fees and for vaccinations.  We asked each student to contribute for excursions beyond their educational needs (e.g., elephants, temples and the floating market) and the rest to cover evening meals. 

It was life changing for me, just as much as for the learners.  They were amazing, and fantastic ambassadors for the College and the country.  They worked ten hour days including revising in the evenings towards their examinations and they all passed.  How good will it look on their CVs being able to say they learnt cookery or massage skills from Thai professionals in Thailand?  They learned to manage their money.  They learned that unfamiliar places come with decidedly different cultures.  Everywhere they were respectful and attentive.  Even those organising our travel were impressed, saying how rare it is that learners turn up on time for the bus every day without fail.  In short, they were a joy and pleasure to be around.

Young people frequently get a bad reputation, and even those of us who work with them every day are not immune from such stereotyping.  Seeing our group have their eyes opened wide to a world they hadn’t even imagined before, was a genuinely moving experience.  One young man who’d never flown before told me he was amazed at how big aeroplanes look on the ground compared to in the sky.  What’s more, one student had never seen a beach, so tutors bought buckets and spades so he could build his first sandcastle.  His home is a two bedroom house, one of which he shares with his parents.  His world just became a whole lot bigger, filled with opportunities previously unimagined.

Back at college, the beauty therapists will soon be offering Thai massage at our public-facing salon, the Graduate, while the chefs are running hugely popular Thai tasting menus in our restaurant, the Brasserie – also for the public.  Nothing will ever be the same for any of them.

So, was the trip a huge amount of effort, fraught with worry and hours of form-filling?  Most certainly.  Was it really worth it?  A thousand times yes.  If you get the chance to take your students abroad, do it.  You won’t regret it, and you’ll make memories both they and you will never forget.  As for the Turing Grants, they’re worth so much more than can be measured in cash.

Curriculum planning means different things to different people; during this challenging process that all educational establishments carry out each year, we must not forget to think creatively. As well as planning the numbers, funding, finances, and timetables, we must focus on planning an exciting curriculum experience to include experiential learning and activities that will provide hugely positive, inspirational and life-changing learning opportunities.

By Maria Bowness, Group Director: Curriculum and Pedagogy, Milton Keynes College Group.