- Patrick meets with Marion Ingleby from Durham County Council’s Policy & Planning Department.
A student from Germany has recently spent three weeks in Durham to experience working life in Britain and improve his English along the way!
Eighteen year old Patrick Schreiber from Krefeld in Germany contacted Durham Education Business Partnership about planning his trip. They were able to host his stay and organise valuable work experience in the city. He spent two weeks working with the Assistant Chief Executives office at County Hall and one week with the Connexions service at Claypath.
Patrick was keen to improve his English and thought the best way would be to spend time working with those who speak it as their first language. Patrick said the English teachers in his school were very good, but he has realised that their pronunciation was quite different from the Durham accents!
Jaqui Gardiner, Work Experience Manager at Durham Education Business Partnership said ‘Patrick got in touch with me back in September 2009 and was very keen on coming to the UK. From his emails I got the impression he was highly committed to his education including his English language development, he also studies Chinese and Spanish. He has arranged his own transport and accommodation and I have been able to arrange two excellent work placements opportunities for him. He very kindly brought me a book about Krefeld so I could see there were big differences between his home city and Durham.’
Whilst at County Hall Patrick was able to assist with research projects, summary reports on government policy and translations. Roger Goodes, Head of DCC Policy and Communications said of Patrick’s visit ‘Patrick’s language and communication skills were excellent, it has been a pleasure to have had him working with us’
Working with Connexions Patrick was able to see what help is available here for young people like him and went to along to Durham Sixth Form Centre with the advisors when the A-level results were released. Pat Cummings from the Connexions service had similar good things to say ‘It must have been a challenge for Patrick at times with our regional accents but he coped extremely well. Every task he was given was completed with great efficiency and enthusiasm. We do not often offer work experience but Patrick was a pleasure to work with’.
When the three weeks were over and Patrick returned to Krefeld he had only good things to say about his time in Durham, ‘I didn’t imagine last year that I would get the chance to have a placement in a city with a world class University. Everything has been well organised and the people I have worked with have been very friendly and did not mind repeating themselves for me. This work experience has exceeded my expectations, my English has improved considerably and I have gained a lot of knowledge about British people. It has not been the language or the people that have made me stumble, it was the small things that seem normal for you, it took me three buses to find out I had to put my hand out for it to stop!’
Durham Education Business Partnership arrange the work experience placements for students across the County, if you would like to know more about the service please contact the Work Experience Team on 01325 375959.
Posted in Uncategorized on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
Over 300 students from across the Tees Valley recently attended Investigating Healthcare Carousels and an Accessing Healthcare Conference at The Work Place, Newton Aycliffe.
The events, funded by AimHigher Tees Valley and organised by the Learning Development Team at The Work Place were aimed at year 10 and year 12 students from schools and colleges based in the Tees Valley to give them an insight into the world of healthcare.
Healthcare professionals from a wide range of areas delivered interactive workshops. These included Mental Health, Podiatry, Occupational Therapy, Patient Journey and Health Improvement.
Students took part in a series of hands on activities with healthcare professionals, experiencing what it feels like to be old, how to deal with an emergency, the effects of mental health and how to care and look after your feet.
Organisations that took part in the events included, Medical Services North East, the NHS and the North East Ambulance Service.
For more information on how you can support activities or to arrange a visit please contact Kirsty Coates, Learning Development Officer on 01325 375983 or at learning@durham.gov.uk.
Posted in Uncategorized on Monday, August 16th, 2010
Inspirational students gave their best during this year’s Bright Sparks competition final, in an effort to win the prestigious title of Bright Sparks Champions 2010. Held at the Dolphin Centre, Darlington early in July, the eight teams fought competitively before the team from the Education Village took the prize of £1000 for their idea ‘Grey Away’ which involved student artwork being developed to brighten office space.
Polam Hall School won the prize of £250 for producing the best advertising campaign and Hummersknott School & Language College walked away with the prize for best business plan.
An audience of over 300 watched the evening unfold at the Dolphin Centre, Darlington early in July with the event sponsored by Darlington Borough Council.
The competition, co-ordinated by Penny Hudson from Durham Education Business Partnership, was open to year 10 students from secondary schools within the Darlington area and involved students using their entrepreneurial skills to develop a business idea in the form of either a product or service. They were supported and assisted by business mentors from the Darlington area. Students also benefit from a presentation/media skills workshop in preparation to the final supported by Diane Youdale from BBC Tees, formerly Jett from Gladiators.
Posted in Uncategorized on Friday, July 23rd, 2010
The Learning Development Team at The Work Place, Newton Aycliffe have won an award in recognition of their work with Tees Valley students for their innovative and interactive activities introducing learners to a range of career opportunities available in the NHS and healthcare sector.
The Aimhigher Tees Valley Awards took place on Monday 5 July 2010 at the Wynyard Rooms and the team won an award in the Aimhigher Activity Category for their work Year 10 and Year 12 Tees valley students in the HealthTec, an innovative healthcare learning zone. This work has involved four year 10 healthcare carousel events and two year 12 healthcare conferences, with up to 100 students at each event. Events were supported by a number of different health professionals and higher education institutions.
Sarah Worsnop, Learning Development Co-ordinator said, “It is fantastic to be recognised for what we do, but we couldn’t do it without the support and commitment we receive from our volunteer health professionals.’
HealthTec enables students to work with healthcare professionals on activities developed to support a number of curriculum areas.
For more information about HealthTec please contact Kirsty Coates on 01325 375983
Posted in Uncategorized on Friday, July 23rd, 2010
