Teachers from Norway visit Barnsley College

Bergen to Barnsley – Teachers from Norway visit College 

Staff from the Learning for Living and Work and Foundation Learning departments at Barnsley College have been sharing their knowledge and experiences of education with visitors from Stend High School in Bergen, Norway.

Brit Kristin Nordtomme and Frode Skudal, both teachers, were particularly interested in the provision Barnsley College provides for young people with learning difficulties or those facing barriers to learning as part of an international collaboration programme with education providers in the UK.

They were very impressed by the broad range of support available within College and the dedication shown by staff to ensure the students’ wellbeing and development of social skills as well as academic learning.

Whilst visiting the various town centre College campuses, Brit and Frode also got to join in a class visit to Elsecar Heritage Centre to experience a planetarium and see how practical activities on offer at Wigfield Farm taught students about animal care and horticulture.

Nicola Thomson-Dewey, Head of Access to Learning at Barnsley College said: “We have thoroughly enjoyed having our Norwegian visitors in College and it has been a really useful opportunity to share ideas and teaching techniques. Our approach to teaching and learning is very similar but we have all come away with fresh ideas that we look forward to sharing. We are also going to encourage continued collaboration with students in the two countries through Skype internet video chat. This will be a wonderfully practical way of opening up the world and developing communication skills for our students.”