Sarah - a German students view of the Torbay experience

Hey, my name is Sarah. I’m 18 years old and I live in Germany.

At my school, every student has to do a work placement in twelfth Grade to get some insights in economic processes. As our school offered to do this work placement in the UK and English is my favorite language, I decided to take the plunge and have the courage.

On my first day here at The Training Partnership I knew I wouldn't regret it!

I love working here, the atmosphere is relaxed, but also very productive and someone’s always quick with a quip – mostly Ian or Sam. ;-)

Sam is also the one I’m mostly working with or better said for. I support him with searching for different activities around Torbay, so that the Students get some ideas of what they could do while they’re here in the UK. Besides the fun tasks there was of course a lot of paperwork – probably like in every other office.

After work there’s still enough time to explore Torquay. Whether you want to go shopping or enjoy the sunset at the beautiful harbour. There are also a lot of pretty places around Torquay, like Brixham with all its beautiful Coves or Dartmouth with its many Castles.

My host family is very nice and helpful. On my first day of work, I didn't catch my bus, because unfortunately it doesn't stop at my stop…

It was pouring and as I got back home, my host mother already called a taxi for me.

The best way to improve your English is to just talk! 

If you’re in the same accommodation as one of your friends, don’t just talk in mother tongue, but instead talk with your host family. You could definitely learn some interesting things about the UK, you may not knew before.

Also you should definitely go out, have fun and make new friends. There are some nice pubs in Torquay, like Appleby’s or the Green Ginger. 

Another good way to meet new people is the weekly student meeting from TTPL – which, by the way, I helped to organise J  – where you can talk to all of the other students from many different countries.

Unfortunately I’m just staying for two weeks and that is definitely too short to explore the whole beauty of Torbay. But nevertheless I made some of the best experiences, I will never forget.

Thank you TTPL! J