Thursday was spent with an interesting and exciting visit to the Eden Project - a bit of Cornish rain but much fun was had by all.

Friday was our Grand Finale with the State Banquet and Presentations in the evening.  The Presidents and Vice-Presidents of each of the four states spent the morning with Ms Prior, perfecting their speeches and presentations.  With awards for the businesses to discuss, food and drink to organise and the evening's entertainment to sort out, there was plenty to do.  We did still find time to arrange a trip to a local nature park for a couple of hours' fresh air and walking in the autumn leaves!

In the evening, many host families and business "owners" came to The Studio where we were treated to a fantastic speech and presentation by the Presidents and Vice Presidents.  The Europia flag was ceremoniously handed over to the French (who will be hosting a similar event in April 2018) and awards were presented to four of our businesses (details to follow).  Once the official business was over, students and families were invited to indulge in a magnificent "banquet" (prepared by Ms Barrow, our Food Tech teacher) which was followed by karaoke and a disco.

And so, the day we had all been waiting for arrived.  The morning session was spent with students from all four countries working together to ensure their marketing and publicity was finished and looking good.  Then began the huge task of getting the hall ready for the Fair.  Bunting and flags were put up, a stage was constructed in the outdoor space and the gym was tidied ready for the Fairground Games and Silent Disco.  Students began decorating their stalls and setting out their wares in preparation for the afternoon session.

Finally, all was ready and the doors opened at 2pm.  Business was brisk from the very beginning with many teachers bringing their classes to the Fair.  Students were kept very busy, selling everything from cakes and jewellery, an environmental smoothie-making bike to jam making, to crafts and drinks, through to hair styling, nail painting and fun stalls with prizes to be won.  The atmosphere was vibrant and electric - such a buzz of activity with students from all four nations working together.  Look out for our Gallery (coming soon) full of pictures. 

Altogether, the total profit from the afternoon was almost £1300, with over £230 going to Bodropia's chosen charity, The Hideout.  There were over 40 businesses running, involving over 140 students.  Well done everyone!!

What a busy start to Erasmus week.  Our Spanish visitors arrived safely on Friday night and were placed with their host families for the week.  On Saturday, the French visitors arrived and everybody went out for an evening of bowling and food.   The German visitors arrived on Sunday and finally we are all together.

On Monday, we started the day by getting to know each other with some games and warm up exercises with Ms Prior.  This was followed by an exciting and fun session on how to run a successful business - this was run by Mrs Hewitt and her Year 9 Business Studies class and included building structures with dried spaghetti and marshmallows, guessing the business logo and playing bingo.  Then it was on board the coach for an afternoon of surfing.  Well, that was the plan but Hurricane Ophelia had other ideas.  The raging waves and windy conditions meant that only one group managed to get into the sea (see the picture below) while everyone had a fun time with games on the beach.  This was followed by delicious pizzas at the Waterfront Restaurant.

On Tuesday, it was all about getting job vacancies within Bodropia businesses filled.  The morning session was taken by Mrs Perrin and her workskills group.  She gave all the businesses and applicants some great ideas and advice on applying for jobs, the types of questions that may be asked and how to behave and dress.  There was plenty of opportunity for everyone to practise their skills and then later on it was time for the businesses to conduct their interviews.  Each visitor went to several interviews and then the applicants and businesses were matched up.

In the afternoon, the business teams started preparations for the Fair tomorrow - making posters, finalising their products, training their new member of staff and creating their pricing structures.  There was a real buzz of excitement and it was a hive of creativity and ingenuity.  A visitor to the workshop noted that it was "So good to see the meshing and blending of cultures and languages under the umbrella of friendship and business  opportunity ."