Up to 40,000 jobs at risk as foreign pupils shun UK language schools post Brexit

Up to 40,000 language school jobs may now be at risk as foreign students shun the UK post Brexit, industry insiders have said.

Due to a combination of the pandemic and the introduction of post-Brexit red tape tape, the Tourism Alliance reported bookings from foreign schools visiting the UK have plummeted.

Now the UK has left the EU, every child entering the country must possess a passport and have a £95 visa. The industry group said revenue had now fallen by an estimated 80 per cent thus putting thousands of jobs under threat in across the country.

Prior to Brexit, children could travel using identity cards under the List of Travellers scheme.

Kurt Janson, the director of the Tourism Alliance told The Guardian: “The collapse in the school group market is unnecessary as schoolchildren present no security risk, will not disappear into the black economy and start driving minicabs, and parents who let their children go on school trips are generally quite keen for their teachers to bring them back home.

“This is an obvious situation where the government needs to set aside its dogma on passports and work with the industry to find a practical solution.”

Until 2021, it is estimated more than 1.5 million children came to the UK each year.

Nicole Taggeb, the executive manager Senlac Tours said: “We haven’t had any groups since March 2020.

“Had it not been for our boss, putting money aside, selling her home, selling the office and supporting the company like that, we might not have survived.

“We’re just hoping to get back to some sort of turnover. First we had Brexit, then Covid, and now the war in Ukraine – it’s another nail.”