Bath College organises a variety of activities which you can take part in, some are free and some have a small charge. These include local and national trips, healthy lifestyle events, films, sports activities, debates, theatre performances, volunteering opportunities, societies and international evenings. These events give you the opportunity to meet other students at the College. Sports activities, particularly football and table tennis are popular and a number of international students play in the College teams.
In addition, we organise events specifically for international students. Some of these may relate directly to classroom learning. For example, students might carry out surveys in the city centre, and do research into places of interest. They may spend the morning at Victoria Art Gallery, the Holburne Museum or the Guildhall Market, and use the information they have found to design and give a Powerpoint presentation when they are back at the College. The costs of the trips and activities range from £0 to £25.
Here are some of the activities which take place throughout the year.
ESL International Food Festival – This is a great opportunity for everyone to sample food from around the world. Both students and teachers cook traditional food from their country, and everyone is invited to come along to the festival to enjoy the variety of food on offer. The recipes are written down and collected to make a recipe book. You can find a film of this festival if you follow this link to the video.
Shakespeare week – Every year the ESL department celebrates the birthday of William Shakespeare, the greatest English playwright. Students can attend a Drama Club to learn about Shakespeare’s use of language, read parts of his work, and discover expressions and phrases he wrote which are still used today in modern English.
National Poetry Day On National Poetry Day – We use poems to develop language skills and explore cultural themes. Students write their own poetry, and we collect these to make our own book of poems. This book is displayed in the library for everyone to enjoy.
Christmas pantomime – At Christmas the students perform in a pantomime, perhaps Cinderella or Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, which is written and directed by teachers, but the acting stars are the students themselves. The rest of the college students are invited to the performance, and there is much singing and laughing!
Every year in November, the Mayor of Bath invites international students from Bath College to an evening reception at the Pump Room and Roman Baths. This is a great opportunity for students to have their photos taken with the mayor, and enjoy the beauty of the Roman Baths by moonlight.
We have a variety of activities such as quizzes, films and talks to celebrate special days and events through the year. For example, we hold a sports quiz for the charity event Sports Relief, and a joke-telling competition for the charity Comic Relief. We celebrate the saint’s days of the United Kingdom, and students can taste haggis from Scotland, learn a traditional dance, hear the story of George and the Dragon and sing the rugby anthems of the four countries (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).