East Riding College welcomes largest ever cohort of students from abroad
ON TOUR: Students from Liceo Vittoria Colonna in Italy visited East Riding College
By Rick Lyon
East Riding College has welcomed its largest ever cohort of students from abroad after striking up a strong bond with an Italian school during lockdown.
The college’s Travel and Tourism department welcomed a total of 39 students from Liceo Vittoria Colonna, in Arezzo, eastern Tuscany.
During their week-long stay in Beverley, the Italians were given a tour of the college’s campus and introduced to the various subjects it specialises in. They were also able to take in the sights of Beverley, York and Scarborough on guided visits.
The trip was an opportunity for students and staff at East Riding College to meet in person their counterparts from Liceo Vittoria Colonna, who they had previously only been able to speak to via Teams.
East Riding College and the school had been in contact about visiting each other for shared experiences prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
VISIT: The Italian students experiencing Childcare at East Riding College
Lockdown prevented this happening as planned, but the two education institutions remained in contact with regular online discussions.
Following the lifting of restrictions, East Riding College Travel Lecturer Dave Brown was holidaying in Italy with a friend and found himself not far from Liceo Vittoria Colonna. He got in touch and was welcomed with open arms, prompting renewed discussions for the Italian students and staff to visit Beverley.
Now, following the successful trip, students and staff from East Riding College are preparing to visit Italy in May.
Dave said: “The relationship we’ve developed with Liceo Vittoria Colonna is something very special.
“We were really keen to maintain contact during lockdown and then, when I was over there, they couldn’t have made me feel more welcome. It was amazing and I was blown away by it.
“They were so keen to come here, so it was fantastic to be able to welcome them and show them around. They absolutely loved it – and so did we.
“We’re now preparing for our visit to them and we can’t wait. Our learners will get so much from the experience.”
Fellow Travel Lecturer Sarah Hamilton said: “During lockdown, the contact we had with the school acted as a real support mechanism for both sides.
“There was a real cultural exchange and it was everything we needed and more during this difficult time. To have that interaction with a different community that was nevertheless going through the same thing was really important.
“So, it was brilliant to finally meet them in person and all of the students were really excited. We had students who’d been a part of the online meetings, but subsequently left the college at the end of their course, coming back to be a part of it.
CLOSE BOND: East Riding College and Liceo Vittoria Colonna has a special relationship
“It was wonderful.
A cohort of East Riding College Travel and Tourism students will make the trip to Arezzo for a week from May 1. During their trip, they will be given guided tours of Florence and Rome.
Kate Harding, Head of Curriculum for Business and the Leisure Economy at East Riding College, said: “We’ve taken students to Berlin and Disneyland Paris before, but this is the first time we’ve done anything quite on this scale.
“I’m so proud of the team for setting this up. It’s fantastic for the students to be able to enjoy experiences like this and they will get so much from it.”
To find out more about Travel and Tourism at East Riding College, click here.