Bridgwater & Taunton College (BTC) welcomed visitors from the Bridgwater twin town of Priverno, Italy. Organised by Brian Smedley of Bridgwater International, school students studying a wide range of subjects – including engineering, maths and philosophy – participated in one of their only trips since the pandemic.

The Italian students were able to take part in an acting workshop with our Drama Academy students, and met with 2nd year media students for insight on their ongoing projects. One documentary, on sleep paralysis, stood out to the students – impressed and intrigued by the content, they wanted to share it with their friends back home.

They also visited our photo studio and dark rooms, where they discussed film processing techniques. Later, the visitors experienced our TV studio first-hand, taking part in an interview about Somerset for the upcoming Somerset Day event.

When the students were asked how they found Somerset and their experiences here, they found the weather to be quite cold, wet and cloudy compared to their home town. However, they said that the people of Somerset were open and friendly, with the pace of life quite different to what they were used to. It was more comparable to Rome!

The teachers, on the other hand, found it incredibly useful to visit and compare how schools across Europe work, gaining insight into the differences between educational approaches and the similarity of students. As a part of the twin town exchange programme, Bridgwater had visited Priverno in 2014, with some teachers having met during this visit. They were able to reconnect after almost a decade.

To learn more about our range of Creative Arts courses and what trips and visits are available to our students, visit www.btc.ac.uk, call Information & Advice on 01278 441234 or come to one of our events.