Norwegian Footballers Come to WLC on an Erasmus Plus Exchange Visit

A delegation of Norwegian 17-and-18-year-olds from Saint Hallvard Upper Secondary School came to West London College this week on 30 October to 4 November 2022 on an Erasmus Plus exchange programme to find out more about college and cultural life in London, and to play some football. 

The students study a broad range of subjects but as part of their general studies curriculum had opted from choices in social science, languages and maths – to specialise in football. Some of the students on the exchange visit played a match against Newport Pagnell U19s on Wednesday, scoring 2 goals and conceding 4.

Marc Anthony said: “There are some amazing young players in the UK and the standard of football is really high.”

Preben Kjelsrud is Head of Social Science and Language at St Hallvard, which has around 750 students. He described the emphasis on sport at school in Norway with ample opportunity for students to participate in a wide range of activities.

Preben said: “Girls and boys often play in mixed football teams up until a certain age in Norway, which seems to be less common here in the UK.”

The exchange students stayed in the Royal National Hotel in central London with a back-by-10pm rule, and completed plenty of sightseeing, enjoying their stay in London.

Lars Sommerstad said: “London is really cool. It’s fun to meet so many people from different backgrounds and everyone has been really open and welcoming.”

Oguzhan Mutallip said: “It’s been fascinating to see how different English culture is to ours. One of the biggest differences is that in Norway everyone is very informal, but here people are very polite.”

Leah Henden said: “We are from a small town in Norway so coming to London is a huge change, as it is such a busy city with a lot going on.”

Liam Wild, Head of Sport at West London College said: “Exchange trips offer great experiences for young people in terms of enriching their understanding of other cultures and ways of life. Our students greatly enjoyed their exchange trip to Norway earlier in the year.”