Help is needed with work scheme for disadvantaged students

David Williams is the director of the North of England School of English, in Doncaster, which is the only accredited English language school in South Yorkshire.

An increasing number of international students are making their way to the school, and consequently become part of the Doncaster community, explained Mr Williams.

The school has recently forged new links with the Doncaster Deaf Trust and the Tomillo Foundation in Madrid, which is a college supporting students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Every year, a group of Spanish students come to Doncaster, and through Erasmus, do unpaid work experience for either 10 or six weeks.

This year, the programme has expanded yet again, and the school is seeking to form new partnerships with more businesses and organisations that are close to the school.

The students come from an IT, business administration, or hospitality and catering background, and are at least 17 years old.

Mr Williams explained: “Currently we have students placed with ourselves, Doncaster College, The Mount Pleasant Hotel and the Doncaster Deaf Trust.

“There are 16 students and two teachers in total this year and this is the fourth year of the programme.

“Students have English lessons at the school during their stay, and are taken on excursions to places such as the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, York, Cambridge, Oxford, Lincoln, Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay.

“We want to try to raise the profile of this incredible programme,run over years, that has made a real difference to people who would never normally have these kind of opportunities.

“I very much enjoy supporting students from deprived and difficult backgrounds as much as possible so they can have the kind of opportunities they deserve.”