This is a Wheely good blog!

Lots happening in Torquay so I will start with our delayed trip to the utterly amazing Olympic wheel on Torquay Harbourside...70 students and a couple of the TTPL Team had a great ride on the wheel yesterday. The weather was not completely kind but the views were still brilliant. Here are just a few of the pictures that were taken...

What a view, even in the mist Torbay Marina is a wonderful sight from the top of the wheel.

Three of our Italian students with their Teacher

All aboard...you can just see Tanja, our TTPL student on the right, clearly still enjoying herself in spite of having to endure working in our office :0)

More good news, (more details will follow) one of our German partners has had the project they set up with TTPL recognised by their National Agency as demonstrating 'Best Practice' and one of our French partners has won first prize for their Leonardo project which led her to spend a day at the European Parliament. We have also had two of our graduate students on the Spanish Teachers programme offered the opportunity to teach at one of our excellent private school work placements. Very well done to them..it just goes to show the benefits of graduate work placements for assisting in CV building and job search.

 

The next blog will be interesting as I will be off to Bucharest to attend the British Council HE event. It will be a great event and I am really looking forward to visiting this lovely city for the first time.

 

So, until then... La revedere și să aibă un week-end minunat.

 

Thats Good bye and have a great weekend in Romanian :0)

How things have changed at TTPL

Once upon a time, many moons ago, when I first joined The Training Partnership, this time of year was the time we did all our 'catch up' stuff. You know what I mean, sort files, tidy desks...file everything and generally prepare for the coming year. Well that was then and this is now as they say... and we now continue to welcome students 52 weeks a year, well almost as not many actually arrive during the Christmas break but we still have students here all year. It certainly provides us with an exciting and constantly changing working environment, and give so many more students the opportunity to enjoy the best bit of this wonderful county. 

Currently there are over 100 TTPL students living and enjoying their placements in and around Torbay & South Devon and another 5 arriving next week! Over 77 of our students met Gemma and Andrea at Torquay Pavilions hoping to take a trip on the stunning  Wheel currently on the seafront...however, with English weather being what it is they had to delay the trip and simply enjoy a warming coffee in the Pavilions Cafe...I can just imagine the counter staff recieving an order for 77 coffees! But great to see so many of our students enjoying a good social get together.

 

 

Other than that, a good week for us all, new students placed and accommodation arranged, just waiting for them to arrive now! I have to mention a visit to a potential Work Placement earlier this week. Jonty and Carole Williams run The Husbandry School, (left) what a fantastic place. The Husbandry School is not, as I thought, where my wife thinks I should go for some lessons; it is in fact a school for experiencing and learning an ancient method of land and animal management. A process that actually gave us the word 'Husband'. The work they have done is amazing and I urge you all to have a look at their web site and try and arrange a visit.

On a more relaxing note (well for me anyway)...I am off next week and looking forward to spending a few days at the marvelous Porthminster St Ives Harbour Hotel in Cornwall - cant wait!!!

 So...have a great weekend everyone...be good while I'm away!

October update...

Here we are again, really don't know where the weeks go. Still busy and, as always, looking for businesses and families to become part of the Training Partnership family, supporting and working with some of the most amazing students you could ever wish to meet.

Lots been happening and in no particular order here we go with the first October blog:
 

Debbie, our Programme Manager has been off sunning herself in Cape Verde (alright for some!) and arrived back at TTPL Towers on Thursday...just to make us all jealous she even supplied a photo! it looks glorious.

When asked for a quote for her picture she said...
" Enjoying a busy day in Cape Verde Islands!  Good to be back with all the TTPL team again "
We believe you Debs! Good to have you back :0)

Last week Wendy and I spent the day at Exeter Racecourse, this was at the brilliant Business Gives Back Expo, organised by the equally brilliant Dave Barr from The Best Of Exeter - what a fabulous day! Lunch with Exeter Chamber of Commerce and a whole day of networking. Met with some great businesses and now planning some follow up meetings to hopefully engage with some of them - all who attended had a really good day. I even had a split second of fame on BBC Spotlight - in the background obviously ;0)

Meanwhile, Jayne and Mia have had a very productive trip to San Diego, representing TTPL and Torbay they attended the WYSTC 2012 conference... a global event for the student travel and internship industry. A long trip with long flights but a worthwhile and exciting event.

While we are on the subject of travel...I will be off to Bucharest at the end of October for the British Coucil Higher Education event - looking forward to a really interesting time there.

Thursdays student meeting was at AMF Bowl in Torquay, over 60 students attended and all had a great time. It really is a great way for all our students to meet and chat socially, it's also a valuable and integral part of their experience here in South Devon. Next week there is a trip to the amazing Torquay Wheel...direct from the Olympic Park. We hope that all students who go enjoy the trip. Pictures will, I am sure, follow.

So, not a great deal else to report for now... please do share this blog with others and follow our progress.

 

See you all soon :0)