SNP MSP Natalie Don has said the announcement of a new Scottish Education Exchange Programme in the First Minister’s Programme for Government will “open countless doors for young people across Renfrewshire”.

The SNP Scottish Government is to launch a new exchange programme which would prioritise placements for disadvantaged young people, following an initial test and learn project this year.

Principal of the University of Glasgow, Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, has welcomed the programme, saying “the return on this investment could be immense” for young people across Scotland.

Welcoming the new Scottish Education Exchange Programme

This will open countless doors for young people across Renfrewshire North & West.

Commenting, SNP MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, Natalie Don, said:

“I am very excited about the Scottish Government’s plans to build a new Scottish Education Exchange Programme, which will transform the life experience and open doors for young people across Renfrewshire.

“These plans will give pupils and students across Scotland, regardless of their background, equal opportunities to learn and thrive through EU and global partnerships with schools, colleges and universities.

“Ambitious commitments from the SNP Scottish Government, such as this, will not only enrich the lives of young people by offering them a chance to study abroad and broaden their horizons, they also improve communities like Renfrewshire.

“In the face of a Tory Government at Westminster which continues to deny young people participation in Erasmus+, and a Labour party which refuses to even acknowledge the damage caused by Brexit, the SNP is determined to support the youngest members of our society.”