Students from Sport and Public Services have flown out across Europe for three ‘Erasmus’ funded trips which each last for two weeks.

The first group to embark on their trip of a lifetime jetted off to Portugal for the annual SL Benfica football trip.

Students will get to experience working with elite coaches at the famous club as well as learning from top sports psychologists and nutritionists.

They will also get the chance to have a stadium tour of the Estádio da Luz (home ground of SL Benfica) and venture into Lisbon for sightseeing.

Throughout the two weeks the group will play a series of friendly matches, testing themselves against other colleges as well as elite development teams from Portugal.

Sport and Public Services ventured out to France and started their fortnight off by arriving at a gorgeous base at Domaine de Ribiere in the Ardèche, a region in the south of the country.

They are spending the first week participating in outdoor pursuits such as rock climbing, canoeing and high ropes.

The group will also be doing work experience in local primary schools to enhance their coaching and leadership skills. Students will then complete several fitness and skills training tasks and also experience some cultural visits to Les Vans Market followed by a transfer to the huge caves of Aven d’Orgnac.

The second week is tailored around rugby development and students will get the chance to visit Catalan Dragons where they will meet players and watch them train and have a tour of the stadium before watching a live game against Wigan Warriors.

The final group to fly out are students taking part in the ski trip in Folgarida, Italy and they will participate in several skiing lessons and learn from experienced instructors.

The trip will see them working with reps to run ‘ski school’ to teach younger learners and organise an introduction to the hotel for new school groups staying - including conducting a tour of the accommodation.

By the end of the trip, and after several more ski lessons, students are surely going to come home as slalom specialists.