TAFE NSW Kingscliff will be the study home for 13 Danish students for the next three months as part of a longstanding relationship with the Aalborg Tekniske Gymnasium in Denmark.

For the past eight years, the school has been sending its students to TAFE NSW Kingscliff to study English for Travellers and Tourism as well as affording them the opportunity to upgrade and complement their English skills and awareness of Australian culture.

The students study in the classroom for the majority of their stay and are encouraged them to learn at every opportunity. The students are hosted by a local family in the area during their time in Kingscliff, enabling them to experience Australian family life and improve their conversational English.

Eighteen-year-old Niklas Hedehus said he has loved his time in Australia very much and had only seen picturesque towns like Kingscliff in pictures.

“It’s been very nice, the TAFE NSW teachers are really nice and very down to earth. Denmark is very formal. The locals in Kingscliff and are so relaxed, it’s a very different culture.”

“I’m really enjoying studying here, I’d definitely recommend it to other Danish students, we get to learn things from the Australian perspective, and it’s a new way of thinking for us.”

With a reputation as a rewarding experience, TAFE NSW teachers and staff host the Danish students each year.

TAFE NSW English Language Teacher, Liz Harman said that Australia’s largest training provider is equipping the students with skills to increase their employability when they return to Denmark.

“Not only do the students get to experience Australian culture, they mature from when they arrive to when they leave,” she said.

“We often get feedback from their parents and teachers, once the students have returned home, to say that they have grown up a great deal from their experience.”

The students also undertake their Surf Safety Certificate at the local Cudgen Headland Surf Life Saving Club and will go on to three weeks of 'Learn to Surf' lessons.

Cudgen Headland Surf Club Training Officer, Lachlan Field, said the Surf Safety certificate involves a combination of theory and practical work over the course of six weeks.

“This certificate teaches these students the life skills of how to remain calm in an emergency situation as well as how to work together as a team.”

For more detail on TAFE NSW courses at TAFE NSW Kingscliff or online, visit www.tafensw.com.au or call 131 601.

Media contact: Sarah Lievore, TAFE NSW Media Officer, sarah.lievore1@tafensw.edu.au