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New government guidance on Dover to Calais school trips
EB News: 21/05/2025 - 09:49
The Department for Education has released updated guidance following the introduction of a new faster border clearance scheme for school groups travelling via Dover to Europe.
The scheme has been designed to streamline the border crossing process and ensure smooth travel experiences for educational groups, reducing wait times at busy border crossings while maintaining necessary security protocols.
The new guidance from the Department for Education sets out the steps teachers or trip organisers need to take ahead of their trip in order to take advantage of swifter processing.
Gill Harvey, School Travel Forum CEO, welcomes the guidance. She said: “We’re pleased to see this very clear guidance published by the Department for Education, it will be hugely helpful for teachers and school groups as we approach the peak time for school trips.
“It is a very simple process and will mean school groups will not face lengthy waits when crossing from Dover to Calais.”
These special arrangements apply for school groups travelling from Dover to Calais with P&O Ferries or Irish Ferries.
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