It was celebration time for Second year Travel and Tourism students at Hartlepool College of Further Education College when they found they had won a national competition to join undergraduates and postgraduate students from Leeds Metropolitan University on a field study trip to the Gambia.

The trip has been offered to Leeds Metropolitan students for a number of years, but never had students from the Further Education Sector been invited. Greig Headley, Undergraduate Programme Leader, explained. 'We felt there was an opportunity to develop young people's education in Travel and Tourism through a national competition open to schools, 6th Form Colleges and Colleges of Further Education. The quality of all entrants was extremely high and it was a difficult job to separate the entries. The panel was unanimous, however, in selecting Hartlepool College's suggestion for two centre sustainable holiday for a family of four in the UK and Ireland as the most feasible. We are extremely pleased to have our first winner in 2008-9. David Hinds, Head of Tourism at Leeds Metropolitan University explained.' This is a lifetime chance for these young people. We have been so impressed with the interest in the competition that we have decided to make it an annual event. We have also been very impressed to see the development of Tourism in the town and feel Hartlepool makes a good case study for successful tourism development.' Students Emma Ritchie, Lauren Williams, Amy George and Rebecca Wale and their Tutors Janet Best and Nicola Parker will take their field trip from March 7-14th. As an additional bonus, the College will receive £1000 towards textbooks and multi-media materials. Tony Foley, Programme Leader for Travel and Tourism at the College, said he was confident that the students will make the most of this learning opportunity. He explained that not only has this competition stimulated our students' interest in world-wide travel, it has inspired them to consider University as their first choice for progression. On their return, their field diaries, photographs and video material will be put to use as a curriculum resource to the benefit of their course. Hartlepool College hopes to return the hospitality by offering a field trip to Hartlepool later in the year for Leeds Metropolitan undergraduate students. Tony explained that entering the competition was not just a one-off event. We really hope to forge links for the future. With the Tall Ships Festival just round the corner, we have plenty to showcase here.