Bridging an expanded learning arena - Strategies for building mutual links between education and working life

Summary and results

The 17th March, the first day of the meeting, was devoted to the journeys to Scotland from Italy and Norway. The Italian students and their teacher arrived at Edinburgh Airport at 17.05 and met the host families at Armadale Academy at 18.00. The Norwegian students and teachers arrived in Edinburgh at 21.30 and the students were dropped off to the host families. The staff of the partner schools stayed at Hilcroft Hotel in Whitburn.

On the following day, 18th March, they all met at Armadale Academy and were taken to Sibbald Training Centre, which is expert in the field of providing construction and plant training services in the United Kingdom. They were divided into six groups and the teams were made up. They were given the project brief and started their project. In that phase of the project the students had to build complex moulds for concrete castings.

Inside a shed, all the most important information regarding safety on the building site was explained to the students and the teachers. They were also given personal protective devices, instructions and all the equipment for assembly. In the shed the groups found all the materials necessary for the concrete moulds.

 

Then the students of each team took the moulds outside to Sibbald’s training field, where they found all the different materials necessary for the preparation of the concrete. Students and teachers produced the concrete by hand, using the materials available. The expected product was a concrete table riser with the logo of one of the participating school. The teams continued their work in the afternoon until 16:00.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday 19th March the groups were involved in marketing activities. They had to work on how to promote their products, the concrete tables they had made at Sibbald’s. Each of the three transnational groups prepared and gave a presentation on their product, which was evaluated by the other groups.

In the afternoon, they went back to Sibbald’s training field, where they extracted the tables risers by breaking the moulds which contained them. Unfortunately, one of the risers was unusable.

Thursday 20th March was devoted to cultural activities. All the students and teachers had the opportunity of visiting Queensferry on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth. The town is dominated by the two huge rail and road bridges that traverse the Forth to Fife.

After that, they went to visit the Falkirk Wheel, the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world, which connects the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. The wheel raises boats by 24 metres (79 ft), but the Union Canal is still 11 metres (36 ft) higher than the aqueduct which meets the wheel, and boats must pass through a pair of locks to get between the top of the wheel and the Union Canal.

In the afternoon, the group went to see Linlithgow Palace, a superb Renaissance residence placed between Stirling and Edinburgh which was built and developed over two centuries by successive Stewart kings of Scotland.

 

 

Friday 21st March was devoted to the participants’ journeys back to Italy and Norway. The Italian students and their teacher, who left in the afternoon, had the opportunity of visiting Edinburgh.