Sport students’ Invictus Games trip was ‘best two weeks of our lives’

Sport students had the time of their lives when they visited the Netherlands for two weeks as part of their course – and even got to see some of the Invictus Games!

The eight students from four New City College campuses – Epping Forest, Redbridge, Havering and Hackney – stayed at Goes in the first week and moved on to The Hague in the second week, taking in one of the seated volleyball matches at the Games, where injured armed services men and women take part in a Paralympic-style sports contest, spearheaded by Prince Harry.

The trip, which was free and included all meals (students just had to provide their spending money), involved 40 young people in total from two schools in The Netherlands, one from Finland and one from Portugal, as well as the New City College learners.

It included a whole host of exciting activities and was said by several students to be ‘the best two weeks of our lives’.

Here are just some of the activities they took part in:

• A lifestyle course, involving gym instructing, fitness, healthy eating and leading activity sessions for a group of elderly people
• A football course, including coaching under 11 and under 12 children and playing in a match against a Dutch team
• A visit to the seated volleyball match at the Invictus Games as well as taking part in a marine’s workout and foot tennis
• An activity day at the beach including circuits, tug of war, beach volleyball and a water polo tournament
• Boat tour of The Hague, an orienteering challenge in the city of Middelburg and kayaking
• The King’s Games – an initiative in the Netherlands to provide breakfast for children in primary schools – helping to serve food, and teaching children dances
• Creating presentations showing what they had learned from the trip and presenting it to all 40 students on the last evening

Student Sib Khan, who is studying Level 3 Sport at Epping Forest campus, said: “The trip was the best two weeks of my life. It was such a fantastic experience and I met some great people.”

Deneil Wynter, studying the Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training at Hackney, agreed saying: “It was great to embrace a different culture as well as meet new people from other countries and I made a lot of new friends. I was also able to develop my coaching skills by learning from professional football coaches in the Netherlands. I would highly recommend the trip for anyone else in the future.”

And Tia Abdul-Khaliq, also a Level 3 Sport student from Epping Forest, added: “Holland was amazing. I made many new friends, gained so much knowledge and experienced new ways of learning. I am so glad I had the opportunity to go.”

The trip was made possible through the organisation MOVES (Mobility of Vocational Education in Sport), and every student was awarded with a certificate for passing their course. Next year New City College will be hosting the event.

Kane White, Deputy Group Curriculum Director for Sport at New City College, said: “This whole experience was absolutely fantastic. Our students behaved impeccably the whole time we were away. The trip enabled them to learn about other cultures, to develop skills such as communicating and building relationships with young people from other countries, and to learn different technical skills in football and gym instructing. This is an organisation we hope to be a part of for many years, which will provide fantastic opportunities for future NCC Sport students.”

Careers Advisor Sarah Grimshaw said: “Two weeks in Holland on the MOVES programme was a real joy to be a part of. Our students did NCC proud and it was a pleasure to see them developing from the unique experience which has given them a wealth of skills they can use for the rest of their lives.”