Titanic Belfast has announced it will once again give schools in some of Northern Ireland’s most deprived areas the opportunity to apply for free transport to enable pupils to enjoy an educational visit in the 2024/25 academic year.

Over the last year, the School Transport Bursary, which is funded through Titanic Belfast’s new Community Impact Fund, and in partnership with McComb’s Coach Travel, enabled 615 pupils from across 15 schools the chance to enjoy a visit to the world-leading visitor attraction.

For the new academic year, Titanic Belfast has extended the programme across a 30-mile radius of Belfast giving even more schools the opportunity to apply.

Schools that meet the criteria - which includes over 50 per cent of the students in receipt of Free School Meals and living in Northern Ireland’s most deprived areas, can apply by Sunday 22nd September, for visits to take place between November 2024 – March 2025.  

Speaking of the huge impact the initiative has for schools and pupils, Rachael Waugh, a teacher at Wheatfield Primary School in North Belfast said: “Last year, we were delighted to have been successful in applying for the School Transport Bursary.  We can see Titanic Belfast and the cranes from our classroom window, so having the opportunity to take my class there was brilliant.  Without the bursary we would not have been able to give the children the experience of visiting such an amazing local attraction.  Their enthusiasm for the topic of the Titanic really grew once they knew they were going to the attraction.”

Judith Owens MBE, Chief Executive of Titanic Belfast said: “Given the story of Titanic is so well known, our educational programme really resonates with children in an impactful way so we are keen to do whatever we can to make it as accessible as possible. However, we know that one of the reasons some schools are unable to enjoy a school trip is because of the cost of transport. We launched the School Transport Bursary in 2023 to play our part in helping ease the burden for schools and following its success, I’m thrilled to see it return for a second year. 

Once again, we have partnered with McComb’s Coach Travel and together, we are looking forward to facilitating an engaging educational experience for children.  We have been able to extend this year’s initiative to schools within a 30-mile radius, so I would encourage teachers to visit our website to check out the criteria and apply if they are eligible.”

Caroline McComb, Director of McComb’s Coach Travel added: “Once again, we are delighted to team up with Titanic Belfast to give schools and pupils the chance to take part in this fantastic education programme.”

Titanic Belfast offers school visits throughout the academic year for self-guided tours and guided tours of the Titanic Experience and the Abandon Ship and Get The Message Workshops. It has also developed a full programme of resources and activities for classes to use before, during and after their visit.

To view the full entry criteria or to apply for the School Transport Bursary teachers can visit titanicbelfast.com/schooltransport by Sunday 22nd September 2024.