Otley Hosts European Exchange Programme

Otley College welcomed a group of staff and students from Finland, Germany and Holland this week.

They came to Britain as part of an exciting project called ‘Prof Skills’ that has been funded by the European Social Fund.

The project is designed to share good practices within further education, specifically for disadvantaged learners.

The busy week included cultural trips to Kings College Cambridge and the Abbey Gardens in Bury St Edmunds. Students also gave presentations to each other on their individual countries and participated in a full programme of lessons including cooking and gardening.

Mervyn Chisnall who organised the one-week exchange, said, “Participation in these projects give students an insight into the heritage of other cultures. It also gives staff the opportunity to share good working practices and ideas, that can be adopted for the benefit of the colleges they work in, when they return home.”

“The staff were particularly impressed with the level of learning support that we have here at Otley and also with the interactive technologies that we use.”

Laura Spek, from the School for Practical Training in Zeist, Holland, said, “It was a great confidence booster for my students and I was able to learn more about them in one week, than I would have done in a whole year of study back in Holland. This for me makes projects like this invaluable.”

Tanja Nissinen form the Mast Vocational College in Finland, added “I was surprised by the emphasis that was put on learning support in Britain and I think we have all learnt valuable educational and cultural lessons from each other. It can be both exciting and scary for students when visiting new countries but this experience will remain with them for their whole lives and this has to be a good thing.