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About This Project
In January 2026, a group of secondary school students from Baytul Ilm Secondary School in Milton Keynes, which is an independent school, travelled to Saudi Arabia for a twelve-day Turing Scheme study visit. The programme took them to Makkah and Madinah, where they visited partner schools, joined lessons and workshops with local students, explored historical and religious sites that connect directly to their curriculum, and experienced a country most of them had only ever read about.
IBD Partnership Group consulted Baytul Ilm on how to get Turing Scheme funding and then organised every element of the project itself. For a school where most students are of Muslim heritage, the combination of academic, cultural and personal significance made this one of the most distinctive programmes IBD has delivered.
The group left as a school party. They came back as something closer to a family.
Feedback from Participants
“I’m very grateful to IBD for organising this wonderful journey and for giving us this opportunity. My core memory from this is how the Saudi Arabians treat us. Whenever we visited universities and schools, they would be so kind and treat us so well. Even if we were in the wrong they would reposition it and take the blame for any events. They kept repeating they are always there for us no matter what.”
Yunus, age 16
“If there was anything I would add, it would definitely be thanking my school who gave me the chance to go on such a journey with all of my friends and teachers. We left as friends and we came back as family, and it was such an honour to be chosen to go on this Turing Scheme trip. Finally, I would like to thank IBD Partnership for making this happen and I am truly grateful.”
Abdulla, age 15
“A heartfelt thank you to you and the entire IBD team for the tremendous support, organisation, and care shown throughout the Saudi journey. The students have all returned home safely and they have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We truly appreciate your dedication, professionalism, and continued support. It made a real difference to the success of the trip.”
Muhammad, Head, Baytul Ilm Secondary School
Learning Objectives
- Develop cross-cultural understanding through direct engagement with Saudi educational institutions
- Gain subject knowledge in Islamic Studies, History and Religious Studies through contextual learning at primary historical sites
- Improve communication and leadership skills in an international environment
- Build personal independence and resilience through international travel and group responsibility
- Develop global perspective and ethical leadership through encounters with different educational systems and communities
What Did The Students Do?
The twelve days were split between Makkah and Madinah, with each location offering a different kind of educational experience. In Makkah the group visited historical sites including Jabal Thawr, Ghaar Hira, Arafaat, Mina and Muzdalifah, places that carry enormous significance in Islamic history and that the students had studied in class but never seen in person. Standing at those sites is a qualitatively different experience from reading about them, and the reflective journaling and group discussions that followed produced some of the most thoughtful work of the programme.
The school visits gave the programme a different dimension entirely. At Wadi Makkah School the group joined an Arabic language lesson, met teachers and students, and toured the school. At Andalus International School they participated in science lessons alongside local and international students, spent social time with their Saudi peers, and took part in a football tournament involving several local schools. The ease with which the students connected across language and cultural differences surprised even the teachers accompanying them.
In Madinah the programme continued with a field study at the site of the Battle of Badr, connecting History curriculum learning to the physical landscape where events took place, visits to Masjid Quba and Masjid Qiblatain, and a final session of presentations and certificates that gave students a structured way to articulate what they had learned and experienced.
What the itinerary cannot fully capture is what happened in the gaps. The moments on the way between sites. The conversations with Saudi students who were curious about life in Milton Keynes. The realisation, for students who had grown up hearing about these places, that they were actually there. Yunus’s observation about how the Saudi schools treated them, with warmth, generosity and a refusal to let any awkwardness stand, says more about what the programme produced than any learning objective could.
About IBD Partnership Group
IBD Partnership Group has been consulting and guiding UK schools to obtain international mobility funding since 2005, supporting more than 60,000 participants across 30+ countries. We managed every element of the Baytul Ilm project, from the initial Turing Scheme funding consultation through to travel arrangements, safeguarding, partner school liaison and final reporting.
Independent and faith-based schools are fully eligible for both Turing Scheme and Erasmus+ funding – read more here. If you want to understand what a funded international project could look like for your students, get in touch with our team today.
