The William Syson Foundation Travel Fund was launched in 2024 as a two-year pilot with a £120,000 grant commitment to encourage and support Scottish school pupils to visit, study and learn about art in Scotland’s world-class galleries and museums – and evidence and evaluation demonstrate that the Travel Fund has been a major success.
Over the two academic years of the fund, during which, the William Syson Foundation funded the programme, 150 schools and 5,400 school students visited a gallery and received a guided tour and high-quality art workshop directly tied to the curriculum at no cost to the school or the art gallery/museum.
The programme successfully removed barriers to art education and fostered a connection between schools and the galleries/museums, with a significant number of young people visiting a gallery or museum for the very first time.
• The rationale for creating the William Syson Foundation Travel Fund:
Post-pandemic, the Foundation recognised a concerning and growing trend of reductions in school visits to art galleries and museums in Scotland. Research demonstrated that decreases in available funding and restricted staff resources for school visits had negatively impacted schools being able to undertake in-person day visits. One of the key findings was that the cost of travel to and from galleries and museums had become prohibitive for schools.
The following were amongst the key findings reported when schools, particularly in areas of multiple deprivation, were asked about factors that would support them wishing to reinstate visits to art galleries and museums:
– 70% of schools responded that free learning activities would encourage out-of school visits to take place and
– 64% responded that support for travel costs would have significant positive impact
• The William Syson Foundation Travel Fund was launched in 2024 to address both the above findings via a specially created grant from the Foundation that would allow schools to bring pupils to galleries and museums at no cost to the school or to the gallery/museum.
The Travel Fund was created initially as a two-year pilot in partnership with three of Scotland’s foremost cultural organisations – Aberdeen Art Gallery, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow and the National Galleries of Scotland and ran from August 2024 until June 2026.
With high demand and clear nation-wide benefits, the fund has recently been extended by the Foundation to cover the next academic year ending June 2027 (taking our total investment to nearly £190,000).
• Results
150 schools and 5,400 school students visited the three partner galleries/museums, who would not otherwise have attended. See Notes to Editors for a selection of schools.
The William Syson Foundation Travel Fund successfully removed barriers to art education and fostered a connection between schools and the galleries/museums, noting that around half of all pupils had never been to the art gallery before.
The funding employed freelance art educators, supported gallery staff, removed the administration burden from schools, provided teachers with practical support for their curriculum lessons, and gave school children a face-to-face, in person experience of engaging with the world-class artworks held in the galleries’/museums’ collections.
The Travel Fund pilot is already an evidence-based success. With costs at only £22 per pupil, the programme has led to a significant increase in school visits to the three partner organisations, thereby embedding art appreciation in the school pupils and encouraging engagement with the national collections.
• The Future
With a successful pilot track record established, The William Syson Foundation is working to embed the Travel Fund as a multi-year programme across other locations in Scotland.
The Foundation is currently recruiting other charitable and third-sector partners whose support will extend and grow this inspiring project into the future.
The next academic year 2026/27 has been fully extended by the Foundation to continue this work.