SEVERAL students from Tavistock College waved good bye to their families as they embarked on the eighth Spanish exchange, only seven days after the Spanish students had ended their visit.

The Year 8 students went by ferry to Santander and carried on to Grado by coach, to meet their host families.

During the trip students spent a day in a Spanish school, enjoyed a day trip to Gijon, where they met former Tavistock College student Rob Fairbaim, who was on a work placement, visited the seaside town of Luarca, had a day's shopping trip and took part in many other activities.

Bev Mellor, head of languages at Tavistock College, said: 'The return ferry is always full of nostalgia but also of looking forward.

'There is talk of what the best bits were, who is going to keep in touch with whom and who wants to return the following year.

'For me, having successfully led eight visits, this is the best part of the exchange. The students return that little bit wiser and, hopefully, full of motivation to want to learn more.

'Learning a language is difficult, putting it into practice is even more so, but seeing how it can transform lives is fantastic.'