Thank you for your interest in the British Council school partnership programmes with Japan.  From April 2010 we are bringing all current programmes with Japan into our worldwide portfolio of school partnership programmes.  There will be some changes to the previous arrangements and information on each programme is given below.

School Partnerships

Arrangements for this programme remain unchanged.  If you have a partner school in Japan you can apply for funding to make an initial visit to establish the partnership or to undertake a collaborative project with them.  An excellent way to enrich the international dimension in the curriculum, the grant can be used for travel, accommodation and related costs.    

For information on school linking visits click here

If you are seeking to establish a link with a Japanese school,  the Japan Society may be able to help and advise you. Click here for further information.

Schools seeking partnerships are also able to register their interest and seek partners on the Global Gateway here

Area Partnerships

Arrangements for Area Partnerships are unchanged.  If you are a Local Authority or grouping of schools working with an equivalent grouping in Japan and would like to develop a strategic partnership, funding is available from the Department for Education to support a visit of up to 10 participants including the local authority or area coordinator.

For information on area linking visits click here

Japanese Language Immersion Course

The Japanese Language Immersion Course has run for several years.  Over the past year the British Council has been reviewing the portfolio of work that we deliver with schools and have come to the conclusion that while the immersion courses represent tremendous value for individual learners, their wider reach and impact is more limited.  In view of the amount of administrative support that is required to deliver the courses both in the UK and in Japan we have decided that we will not be running an immersion course in Japan for English schools in 2010.

If you would like to consider other options, the following programmes offer support for Japanese language teaching in UK schools.  The British Council language assistants programme places Japanese language assistants in schools each year.  Further details are available here and the Japan Society offers materials and support for language teaching. Click here for details.

Joint Curriculum Projects

From April 2010 funding for Joint Curriculum Projects with Japan will no longer be available.