Well for the first time ever, this week I am writing my blog from an aeroplane – that’s right, we are on our way back from Sunny Salou! We have had such a fantastic week in the sun! Here is our daily Future Finders run down..

On Monday, we met at 6am at Medtia Square and headed for Terminal 2 at Manchester Airport! Our plane however was departing from Terminal 1, so the very nice staff at Jet 2 arranged for a shuttle bus to take us to the correct terminal! Good start, Mr Wood! The less said about security the better – needless to say that a few rogue liquids appeared in most of the students’ bags so that was a slightly tense time too! It was a relief when we finally got seated on the plane!

We then had lunch on the plane before landing and getting a local transfer bus from Barcelona airport to our final destination, The California Apartments, Salou. The apartments were really clean and recently refurbished so we were impressed. We unpacked in our rooms and then headed out to explore the local town!

After a lovely evening meal in the hotel we headed to my favourite bar in Salou, Danny’s Bar. They made us feel very welcome last year and once again the students had a brilliant night singing and dancing along to the live band (and a few enjoyed a Blue WKD or two too!). A fab first day!

On Tuesday we had a full English breakfast in the hotel before heading to Portaventura World, one of two theme parks in Salou. We had the most incredible day! We watched a Polynesian Dance Show and a Wild West Shoot Out Show and, of course, went on lots of rides – some of them two or three times!

We left the park around 4pm and headed back the hotel pool for a swim to cool off. On Tuesday evening we went back to Danny’s bar and had a pub tea! It’s fair to say that the students were very tired after a long day at the parks so we had an early night.

On Wednesday we once again headed over to Portaventura on the local bus but then started our day at Ferrari Land. Myself, Jack, Miss Timewell and Zoheb braved and survived the biggest rollercoaster in Europe! After this we all watched an acrobatics show, it was absolutely fabulous! The boys were gobsmacked – I’m not sure if this was because of the stunts or the ladies in the cast!!

We then returned to Portaventura World for the afternoon to go to some of the rides that we had missed the day before..

Another busy day for us all so again we headed back for a chill/siesta. Wednesday night was party night and we headed to another Irish Bar called The Dubliner for more live music and dancing, then it was over to a karaoke bar where David, Humayan and Daniel performed for a very full bar! Well done boys! We got home in the early hours that night so on Thursday morning we all had a nice lie in. We got up around 11.30am and headed to a local restaurant for breakfast/lunch. We then had a few hours’ relaxation and games on the beach before heading back to the pool for a swim. It was then time to pack again before dinner. Last night we went for a walk and did some shopping for souvenirs before heading back for an early night!

It has really been a joy for myself and the rest of the staff team – the students have been polite, courteous, funny and very mature! We’ve loved it! Let’s see what the students thought..

‘I thought the holiday was good and I enjoyed the fact that I faced my fears by going on the log flume!’ – David

‘I had a fantastic holiday with everyone. I enjoyed seeing new places and going to different pubs with my mates!’ – Abu

‘I loved the rollercoasters and the acrobats were amazing! I also enjoyed watching my friends singing karaoke!’ – Zoheb

‘It was a good holiday and my favourite part was the pool!’ – Niamh

‘It was mint going to the karaoke bar and getting a standing ovation for Maggie May!’ – Liam

I’m so glad that they had a fab time – now for a well deserved break!

While our Future Finders students have been enjoying their holiday, back in Oldham it has been business as usual for our Key Stage 5 students who have been hard at work. Alison brings us this week’s ‘Day in the life of…’ feature from our Bridging the Gap student, Kyra..

 

A Day in Life of Kyra  
Catering Assistant at the Royal Oldham Hospital

One of my placements has been in the Christie’s Cafe. I have worked there mainly in the afternoons since September. I had to complete and pass a food hygiene and hand hygiene course before I was allowed to work in the café.

I have to wear a clean white tunic and my ID badge. I have to make sure my hair is neatly tied up and out of the way. I am not allowed to wear any rings, nail varnish, or a watch because they can have germs on them. It is a small café with only one other member of staff.  

The first thing I do is wash my hands. I have to clean the tables, making sure they are ready for new customers..

I can serve customers and I have become confident on the till. I am always polite and helpful..

I make hot drinks like latte, tea and hot chocolate. I have to be very careful using this machine..

Some of our customers order toast..

I fill up the snacks, crisps, biscuits and sugars..

When the customers have finished I have to rinse the dirty cups and saucers before they go in the dishwasher..

We have to use a probe to check the sandwiches are at the correct temperature, so they are safe to eat..

We make sure the café is really clean. I spend a lot of time cleaning!

I enjoy being in Christie’s Café because there are lots of different jobs to do and the staff are really friendly.

Meanwhile our job coach Charlotte has been supporting our Key Stage 5 students on some of their work experience placements..

Jason, Josh and Ellis are continuing their fantastic work at Dr Kershaw’s shop in Oldham town centre. Recently they have been helping in the stock room to organise the hangers and size cubes, checking and testing stock to see if it broken, checking soft toys for the CE mark so we know that they are safe to sell and finally they have been replenishing stock on the shop floor. Darren the shop manager is pleased with their work..

Will has been working with Becky at the Atrium learning about the cleaning rota and all of the jobs that we need to do daily to keep the café looking spick and span. Well done, Will!

Have a wonderful half-term break! We look forward to welcoming the students back on Monday 4th June (please click here for a reminder of all our term dates),

Daniel
Director of Employment & Co Head of Site at Medtia Square

You can view our previous blog entries here

Click here for this week’s news from Graham