Post Brexit British State schools and EU kids

[CesiraAndEnrico]

Long story short. I live in Italy. Was asked to advise a mum about the British school system yesterday. Her 16 yo has been accepted on an (mum was vague, but seems to be for profit, not state operated) educational programme. The kids get sent to Britain for a year, they live with a host family and attend state schools/colleges offering provision for 16-18 yos.

I asked about the implications of Brexit and the mum said they said nothing about it, and she didn't think to ask as it isn't particularly on her radar.

I have (possibly unfounded, my scam radar is a bit trigger happy) concerns that this is a private company which will have to adapt to Brexit to preserve its business model and they are being somewhat coy about mentioning the potential additional costs Brexit might incur for their clients.

Post Brexit would unaccompanied minors lose access to free state education? Or, if they are already paying reduced EU students' fees at the moment would they likely become subject to a higher "rest of world" fee structure ?

Would they need to apply for student visas ?

The kid is due to leave at the end of August and there will be considerable costs payable before then. They are lovely, not well off people about to make an enormous sacrifice to improve their kid's educational/work prospects. I neither want to spook them unnecessarily, nor fail to give a well timed warning of the "these are the Brexity questions you should be asking the company" kind.

So does anybody know what the state of play is likely to be in terms of programmes like this when it comes to school/college fees once Brexit happens ? The mum will bring me over the paperwork in the next couple of days, are there any specific questions I should advise her to ask the company in terms of Brexit implications ?

Consumer protection is not exactly fab over here, so any protective measures are best taken pre coughing up any more cash. I'd really appreciate any help pulling together information people think might be useful for the mum to have.

I have no idea, but I'm sure you're right to have all sorts of alarm bells ringing. For starters she needs to look at visas for such a long stay/non-holiday stay. I suspect if she asks the company that their flannelling may start to unravel?

Certainly not something I'd be handing over any money for without considerable research first. It would be awful if she ended up losing money and gaining nothing for her child.

It's not uncommon for European teens to do a year abroad - I know one family whose son spent a year in the US, another whose daughter spent last year half in Wales and half in Germany, and a third whose 16 year old is currently in Norway.

These companies will usually have experience of organising trips outside the EU, so Brexit doesn't necessarily mean the trip will be impossible. But obviously it might mean some additional expenses and your friend needs to ask some questions.

I’ve recently looked into a similar question for a friend who’s also Italian, living in U.K. but not settled, and his teen would also not qualify for settled status when he’ll start uni. He’s currently in a local comprehensive (liceo statale, x intenderci). Universities like imperial college are publishing their fees for U.K./eu and for non-eu, and the fees are trebled (30k a year vs 9.2) for non EU, so the question is quite relevant...
What I gathered so far is that currently there’s no plan to change the status quo for the next academic year, the government advised education providers not to consider EU students for the highest fee rate for the coming year, and those who will start next year will continue to pay as U.K.
but this might change if there’s a hard Brexit

A 16yo would not go to university but to an academy or 6th form school, which can be free, ‘denominational but state-funded’ or private. On top of that they can be selective or not. It’s quite a minefield even without Brexit, let me tell you.
I’d definitely ask that they check in the contract if there is any fee to pay for cancellation for force majeure (if it turns out he needs a visa and doesn’t get it), anything specifically related to Brexit. If there isn’t, I suggest he looks into the Netherlands instead. Great education, mostly in English, EU, generally nice people. Buona fortuna!

I suggest he looks into the Netherlands instead

Got her heart set on Britain unfortunately.

I found a college in London that has stated no fees for EU students for a 2019-2020 BTEC course. Which I guess might not count as legally binding, but does tie in with other announcements I've found about no fee switch to the overseas rate for EU students at uni for an interim period. It's a lot easier to find info about uni than it is about the compulsory education age group, but I suppose they wouldn't treat the two as entirely different kettles of fish?

These companies will usually have experience of organising trips outside the EU, so Brexit doesn't necessarily mean the trip will be impossible. But obviously it might mean some additional expenses and your friend needs to ask some questions.

I think the issue is the parents know so little about the British Education system and Brexit they don't know what questions to ask. I'm working on a rough list of things of things I personally would want clarified in their position. I'll run it by the paperwork when she brings it to see what hasn't been mentioned upfront in the bumf. Then take it from there.

If her heart is set on "British" schools, you could start by pointing out that the English education system is very different from that of Scotland. To the best of my knowledge, the same applies to Wales with its Welsh language, and Northern Ireland. So the first question might be where in the UK does want to go to school?

I think the issue is the parents know so little about the British Education system and Brexit they don't know what questions to ask. I'm working on a rough list of things of things I personally would want clarified in their position.

I suspect this is often the case, but in this case because it's financially a stretch for your friend it's particularly important to check the details.

Health insurance is the really important thing that needs sorting.

If there is no deal, the UK drops out of Erasmus in June.

These schemes aren't part of Erasmus Talk1n - they are for high school students (not uni) and are paid-for trips, with the cost depending on where you want to go.

Ok, Mistigri
But what visa basis would they be coming in on?
If there is a hard brexit, the right to study for EU nationals will be the same as the rest of the world
ie no places at state schools
www.gov.uk/child-study-visa £348 standard fee

www.gov.uk/guidance/schools-admissions-applications-from-overseas-children

“The following children are not entitled, by immigration law, to enter the country to attend to a state-funded school:

children from non-EEA countries who are here as short-term visitors - these are children who live abroad but have been admitted to the UK for a short visit (for example as tourists or to visit relatives)

children from non-EEA countries who have entered the country on a Tier 4 visa - these children are allowed to study in England on the basis that they attend an independent, fee-paying school listed in the register of Tier 4 licensed sponsors”

If she’s I tending to use a state school, I’d say go elsewhere.

If UK visas are that restrictive regarding schooling then I suspect the organiser will simply pull out of the UK market and give refunds (OP's friend needs to check what happens if the trip gets cancelled). They are probably counting on the WA being signed.

Even the USA doesn't seem that unwelcoming to exchange students - I have a friend whose son did a year there (admittedly before Trump), he stayed with an American family and I am pretty sure he attended public high school.