The first leg of the Belgian exchange took place in November as we hosted eight students and two staff here at Wyke. They arrived exhausted after a disturbed night on the ferry but were allowed little respite as our students had planned plenty of activities for them in the evenings! Impressed by our college buildings, the students particularly enjoyed the canteen area and were treated to a meal on their first day in college.

They also took part in French lessons, where they paired up with our students and produced bi-lingual work on the environment and a critical review of a film. During their visit they also went to York and followed a paintings treasure hunt around Beverley.

They spent a day in Hull, going to the Deep and then to Hull New Theatre to see “Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat”, which they really enthused about. There were long faces as they left on the Friday morning, waved off by their partners, but of course email and Facebook mean that they have been able to keep up with each others’ news since. The Wyke students are looking forward to the return visit in March. We have planned to go by Eurostar and have a tour of Brussels, and our students will be carrying out work experience there.