DUTCH veterinary nursing students have arrived on international placement at Pershore College to continue their development after college chiefs vowed to continue the arrangement after Brexit.
The students attend the reputable Aeres MBO Barneveld school in the Netherlands and the school has been sending students to study in Pershore for more than 10 years.
Aeres MBO Barneveld, in the Gelderland province, is one of the oldest and most respected animal medicine schools in Holland and attracts students from all over the country.
Around 30 students come over to study at Pershore College, which is part of WCG, each year – and the first cohort of 15 arrived this month.
They will be staying on a four-week placement, before returning again next year for another month-long intensive placement.
Due to proposed changes to the Erasmus+ programme, which is run by the European Union, the students could lose their bursaries for accommodation and food costs.
But both colleges are working closely together to ensure the programme can continue after Brexit and Pershore College is now looking into the possibility of sending students over to Holland too.
Philippa Gerrard, head of department for Sport and Animal Welfare at Pershore College, said: “It’s fantastic to welcome the students on the international programme.
“They come twice in two years, which includes intensive teaching of modules in the classroom and going out into veterinary practices to hone their skillset too.
“With the possible changes as a result of Brexit, we are currently working on a number of solutions to ensure we can keep this mutually beneficial arrangement going between the two colleges.
“The feedback we get from the students who come over is always fantastic, and we’re hoping to explore the idea of sending students to Aeres MBO Barneveld to study too.”
Hans Dekker, veterinarian and teacher at Aeres MBO Barneveld, added: “We could always send them over to Sweden or other countries to learn, but we have strong connections in the UK and want to keep coming there.
“There is a lot of trust between us and Pershore College, it’s a great relationship and we will do everything we can to stay in Pershore.”
Robin Tas, 19 from Druten, is one of the students who has been studying at Pershore College.
“When we come to study at Pershore we love the peaceful and natural environment. We find Pershore College really welcoming. Being here in the UK enables us to learn the differences between veterinary nursing in the UK and the Netherlands,” she said.
“We get to experience different teaching methods, a new culture whilst improving our use of the English language.
Visit http://wcg.ac.uk/study for more.
