Independent schools can apply for Erasmus+ funding from January 2027. This surprises a lot of people. In twenty years of working with UK schools on international mobility programmes, IBD Partnership Group has fielded the same question dozens of times from independent school heads, bursars and international coordinators: can independent schools in the UK apply for Erasmus+ funding? The answer has always been yes, and the confusion has always been unnecessary.

This guide explains exactly what Erasmus+ offers independent schools, how the application works, and what a well-run project actually looks like in practice.

Are independent schools eligible for Erasmus+?

Yes, unambiguously. Erasmus+ eligibility in the UK is based on whether an institution is a recognised educational body, not whether it is state-funded. Independent schools, preparatory schools, faith-based independent schools, and private sixth forms all qualify under the programme’s Key Action 1 mobility strand.

This has been true since Erasmus+ launched in its current form in 2014, and it will be true when the UK rejoins in January 2027. The misconception that Erasmus+ is a state school programme is persistent and entirely wrong. IBD has worked with independent schools across the UK on funded international mobility projects, and in every case the school’s first question was whether they were allowed to apply at all.

They were. You are.

What Erasmus+ offers independent schools specifically

Independent schools often have advantages that state schools do not: more administrative capacity, more flexibility in the academic calendar, and in many cases existing international relationships that provide a natural foundation for Erasmus+ partnership work. What they typically lack is familiarity with EU funding processes, which tend to feel bureaucratic and unfamiliar to schools that have not navigated them before.

Erasmus+ Key Action 1 for schools covers:

• Study visits to partner schools in Europe and beyond
• Job shadowing and professional development mobility for teaching staff
• Group mobility projects combining educational activity with cultural exchange
• Inbound mobility, hosting European students and staff at your school

The grant covers travel costs, accommodation, subsistence and in some cases preparatory visits where staff travel ahead to establish the partnership. Students and their families pay nothing. The school applies, receives the funding in advance, and runs the programme. There is no reimbursement model and no point at which your school is out of pocket.

A Turing Scheme project that shows what is possible

In January 2026, IBD Partnership Group consulted Baytul Ilm Secondary School, an independent Islamic secondary school in Milton Keynes, on obtaining Turing Scheme funding and then organised their international placement from start to finish. The project sent a group of secondary school students to Saudi Arabia for twelve days, visiting partner schools and educational institutions in Makkah and Madinah.

The programme was structured around five learning objectives: developing cross-cultural understanding through direct engagement with Saudi educational institutions; improving communication skills in an international environment; gaining subject knowledge in Islamic Studies and History through contextual learning; building personal and leadership skills through group responsibility; and developing global perspective through direct encounters with different educational systems.

Students visited schools including Wadi Makkah School and Andalus International School, participated in joint lessons and workshops with local students, took part in a football tournament with local schools, and visited historical and religious sites that connected directly to their curriculum. The contrast between what they study in a classroom in Milton Keynes and what they experienced standing at the sites themselves was, by any measure, a different kind of education.

This is what a well-designed funded mobility project produces. Not a school trip. Not tourism. A structured educational experience that changes how young people see the world and themselves.

Baytul Ilm ran this project through the Turing Scheme. From January 2027, Erasmus+ opens a broader version of the same opportunity: European destinations, bilateral exchanges where partner schools can send students to the UK in return, and longer grant cycles that allow more sustained international relationships.

How the Erasmus+ application works for independent schools

Independent schools apply through the British Council as the UK National Agency, the same route as state schools. The application asks you to describe your project: who is going, where, for how long, what they will do, what they are meant to learn, and how you will measure outcomes. You also need to identify a partner organisation in the destination country.

The application is not technically complex, but it rewards clarity. Schools that describe vague cultural enrichment projects do not perform as well as schools that can articulate specific learning objectives and connect them to curriculum outcomes. Independent schools, with their typically stronger administrative capacity, are well placed to write compelling applications, provided they understand what the programme is looking for.

IBD guides independent schools through every stage of this process. We help scope the project, identify suitable partner schools or institutions abroad, structure the learning objectives in a way that aligns with what assessors want to see, and handle the logistics from application through to delivery and final reporting.

Why independent schools have been slow to engage

The honest answer is perception. Erasmus+ has been associated in the public mind with state education, university exchanges and disadvantaged young people. None of that is inaccurate, the programme does prioritise inclusion and does have strong roots in state and vocational education. But it has never excluded independent schools, and the assumption that it does has cost many independent schools opportunities they were always entitled to access.

The other factor is familiarity. Independent schools tend to organise their own international trips through private travel companies, paying full cost. The idea of applying for a grant through a government-administered programme feels like a different world from how they usually operate. In practice the process is straightforward and the financial case is compelling: a fully funded international programme that costs the school and its families nothing is a different proposition from a privately organised trip that costs thousands per student.

What makes a good Erasmus+ project for an independent school

The strongest independent school projects tend to connect international experience to something the school already does well. A school with a strong music programme might organise a study visit to a partner school in Germany or Austria with a shared music focus. A school with an international sixth form might develop a KA2 partnership project with institutions in two or three countries, producing curriculum resources that both sides use. A faith-based independent school, like Baytul Ilm, might connect the programme to religious studies, history or language learning in ways that a secular state school simply could not.

The specificity is the strength. Generic international visits produce generic outcomes. Projects built around what a school genuinely cares about produce the kind of measurable learning outcomes that make strong applications and, more importantly, strong experiences for students.

Getting started before November 2026

The Erasmus+ application window for UK institutions opens in November 2026. That gives independent schools roughly five months from now to scope a project, identify a partner institution, and prepare an application. Five months is enough time if you start now. It is not enough time if you wait until October.

The first step is deciding what you want the programme to achieve. Which students? Going where? To do what? IBD Partnership Group has been consulting and guiding independent and state schools to obtain international mobility funding since 2005. We can help you answer those questions, identify the right partner, and build a project that reflects what your school does best.

Get in touch today or register for one of our upcoming free webinars where we walk through the Erasmus+ application process specifically for UK schools considering their first project.

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FAQ

Q: Can independent fee-paying schools apply for Erasmus+ in the UK?
A: Yes. Erasmus+ eligibility is based on institutional type, not funding model. Any registered educational institution in the UK can apply, including independent schools, preparatory schools and private sixth forms.

Q: Do independent schools need to meet any special criteria to apply?
A: No criteria specific to independent schools. The application requirements are the same as for state schools: a defined project, clear learning objectives, an identified partner organisation abroad, and the administrative capacity to manage the grant and report on outcomes.

Q: Can an independent faith school apply for Erasmus+?
A: Yes. Faith-based independent schools are eligible on the same basis as any other independent school. IBD has extensive experience working with faith schools across different traditions on funded international mobility projects.

Q: When do Erasmus+ applications open for UK independent schools?
A: Applications are expected to open in November 2026 for projects running in the 2027/28 academic year. The British Council is expected to act as the UK National Agency.

Q: Does Erasmus+ cover the full cost of a school trip abroad?
A: Erasmus+ grants cover travel, accommodation and subsistence costs. Students and families pay nothing. The school applies for the grant, receives funding in advance, and runs the programme. There is no point at which the school or its families are out of pocket.

Q: Can an independent school use Erasmus+ to host European students?
A: Yes. Unlike the Turing Scheme, Erasmus+ funds inbound mobility. Independent schools can apply to host students, teachers and young professionals from other Erasmus+ countries, with the visiting institution accessing funding on their side to cover the trip.