Brussels, 06/09/2010 (Agence Europe) - As was the case in 2010, secondary school students from several member states of the European Union, as well as from other European countries which are not members, will have the opportunity to experience an original form of scholastic mobility in 2011, thanks to the Comenius action for individual pupil mobility. Since last year, this initiative, the legal basis for which is the decision on the lifelong education and training programme covering the period from 2007 to 2013, has allowed secondary school pupils to spend between three and ten months in a host school and host family in another European country. The European Commission has published in the Official Journal of 1 September 2010 (C236/6) a call for proposals aimed at schools taking part in or which have taken part in a Comenius schooling partnership. These schools must be located in any of the following countries: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Austria, Finland, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and Norway. In 2010, some 700 pupils from 13 European countries responded to the call and applied to take part in this new action. The budget provided for this call is €3.4 million, to cover the bursaries to be given and with the duration of the stays varying from country to country and the schools organising pupil mobility. The cut-off date for applications is 1 December 2010. “A study trip abroad will give them a European-scale experience, widening their vision of the diversity of European cultures and languages and will help them to acquire the knowledge they need for their personal development”, the Commission stresses. (I.L./transl.fl)