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'My time at KSE'
Paul Beltran de Otalora, a group leader from from Spain, tells us about his time at KSE.
I come from the northern part of Spain, and I’ve been bringing groups here for a couple of years. I also came here as a student, about 10 or 11 years ago. We’re really happy with the way you work, everything is well organised. The students have fun, they learn English, so it's an ideal place to come.
I used to come with my Mum, she used to be a group leader at the time. I came for two years in a row I think, and now I’ve taken her place. Next year, I think that my sister will take my place. It’s a family business. We really like the place here, the town is really nice, we’ve never really had problems with host families or anything like that. Our students are always very happy, and they normally make repeat visits, maybe 2 or 3 years in a row. Broadstairs hasn’t really changed in the last few years.
I suppose the best memories are the people I’ve met. I made friends who I am still in contact with now, as well as some host families. As a group leader, I’ve met people from all around the world and I love learning about and engaging with other cultures.
For a year I lived in London, so I would say London is my favourite place in England. Of course I love Broadstairs, but you cannot compare the two. They are different sorts of places. I take this as my summer holiday and it’s a nice town where everyone is very friendly. We’re really happy here, and look forward to continuing our relationship with the school. Every year has been great. |
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Broadstairs in the News |
 Broadstairs has once again gained recognition for its desirable combination of beautiful beaches, cultural heritage and nostalgic charm. It seems that you can’t open a newspaper without finding a mention of Broadstairs at the moment and in March it was the turn of the Times, as they celebrated Broadstairs as the best ‘coastal location’ in the country.
The Times article follows a poll carried out several years ago by the Guardian, which concluded that as a seaside town, Broadstairs is only bettered by St Ives in Cornwall, which many of you may remember from trips to Penzance in recent years. So, whichever KSE destination you choose, you can be sure that you will be seeing some of the best seaside towns England has to offer!
Three beaches in Broadstairs have retained their prestigious ‘Blue Flag’ awards. Botany Bay was alongside Joss Bay and Stone Bay in  receiving the international award, which assesses the cleanliness of the water alongside criteria such as ‘Environmental Education and Information’ and ‘Safety and Services’. The Broadstairs beaches were among eight from Thanet, making it the district in England with the greatest number of Blue Flag beaches.
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A Trip to the (Other) Seaside
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 Once again, KSE staff in Penzance have welcomed groups of students to our summer centre in the far South West. As for the last few years, classes were held at the newly renovated and very stylish Penwith College.
Students had plenty of opportunities to go on a variety of trips, including to Porthcurno, one of the most impressive beaches in the country. It is also the setting for a stunning outdoor theatre, the Minack, which perches precariously on  top of the jagged cliffs. Other destinations include Land’s End, the western-most point in the UK, and St Michael’s Mount - only accessible on foot at low tide - and St Ives. Also on the programme this year was a tour round the peninsula to see some of the standing stones which are such a feature of the landscape.
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News from Jessica |
On 27th February this year, my husband and I welcomed our second beautiful baby, Lottie, into the world. I am told by our French Group Leaders that we have 'The King's Choice' - a son and a daughter, so I think this means we can stop now(!) I am currently still on maternity leave, but still keep in touch with everyone at KSE and I will be returning to my role as Groups Manager towards the end of the year. It has been lovely to see so many students in Broadstairs and I can confirm with first-hand experience that they politely stand aside to let a mum with a double push-chair walk past. I have also had the  pleasure of bumping into several Group Leaders whom I must thank for keeping me up-to-date with the local gossip - it seems they always know what's happening around the town and at KSE before anyone else!
I am looking forward to returning to work alongside Jeanette and Sarah in the Groups Office and to seeing old friends and welcoming new faces to the school next year.
Jess Broughton, Groups
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Festival Season |
Broadstairs again welcomed thousands of visitors for the famous Folk Week festival. The festival, which ran from the 9th to the 16th of August, began in 1965 and is still as  popular as ever. This year, one of the highlights was Tim Edey, a young multi-instrumentalist who grew up in Broadstairs. The Folk Week website describes him as ‘one of the finest Irish box and guitar players of his generation’, and lists the many other instruments he plays, including the mandolin and the bouzouki. Edey will be joined by a huge number of other musicians playing throughout the town in a variety of venues.
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Students from the Austrian Kremsmünster group travelled to the KSE’s summer centre in Penzance earlier in the summer, where they found themselves in the midst of the famous Golowan Festival, an annual celebration of traditional Cornish culture. The students were awarded with a special round of applause for joining in with some locals in a typical ceilidh dance, similar to the barn dance that some of you may remember from trips to KSE. The festival, which celebrates the passing of Midsummer’s Day, ran from June 21st to June 30th. Phil Carter was with the group and managed to capture this photo of the group in action. |
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A Bavarian Holiday |
Four KSE activity assistants - Ben Stephens, Jack Eastwood, Ashley Giles and James Young- recently travelled to Lauf, in Bavaria, Germany where they enjoyed the hospitality of two regular leaders of groups to KSE, Wolfgang and Yvonne Stock. They enjoyed the annual ‘Altstadtfest’ and all four took part in the 10km race that opened the festival - each finishing in the top 20 runners for their age range. They also took part in a canoe race during their time in Germany with Jack coming second overall.
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Summer Snaps 2013
- click on the montage to go to the photo page - |
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