Julia Lopez MP was delighted to welcome students and teachers from Greece, Latvia, Italy, Bulgaria and Spain to Havering.

Emerson Park Academy hosted a tea party celebrating the sharing of European cultures and Julia was pleased to attend and learn about the students' future plans for their studying and careers.

Julia also managed to speak with Senior Prefect, Lacie, who has pioneered British Sign Language lessons at the school for her peers.

Following the withdrawal of the Erasmus programme, the Government has introduced the new student exchange scheme, the Turing Scheme, to improve exchange programmes with Asia, Africa, North America, Australia and New Zealand. This new scheme will also improve social mobility as 48% of the places will be given to students from disadvantaged backgrounds.