Brits still go abroad

Your article "Brits reluctant to study abroad" (THES, April 16) was misleading.

It referred only to Socrates/ Erasmus exchanges, which represent less than half of the residence abroad that UK students undertake in degree programmes. Other statistics give a different picture: 88 per cent of sixth-formers on a language A level want a degree course that includes a year abroad.

We believe that students in all disciplines increasingly recognise the employment advantage of a year abroad.

Once all universities offer properly timetabled, credit-bearing language classes for at least two years, there is no reason to think that the number of students wanting to prepare for the international graduate jobs market through residence abroad will not rise.

Mark Bannister

Oxford Brookes University

Jim Coleman

University of Portsmouth