Visiting Students Greeted by Mayor

Twenty students from Brazil who are currently being hosted by South Eastern Regional College (SERC), recently met the Mayor of Ards and North Down Borough Council, Councillor Alister Cathcart when he kindly invited them to Bangor Castle for a reception.

This was facilitated by students from the Ulster University Tourism Hospitality and Events Management Foundation Degree programme at SERC, who planned and organised a fully guided tour of the Walled Garden and Bangor Castle to welcome the Brazilian students to the Borough.   They also worked with SERC Culinary Arts students to plan and prepare a luncheon – including traditional Irish bread-based canapes - which was served at a reception hosted by Mayor Alistair Cathcart at Bangor Castle.

SERC is currently hosting the students from the Paraiba region of Brazil as part of the Connected World Project 2025. The students, aged 16-18 years are studying at SERC to improve their English language skills and will complete the formal IELTS English language examination.   Each student is staying with a host family, so that they can immerse themselves in the English language, and the group is enjoying a wide range of cultural and leisure experiences to give them an understanding of our culture, traditions and family lifestyle throughout their 10-week stay. 

Mayor Alistair Cathcart was delighted to welcome the Brazilian group and was extremely impressed with the level of professionalism displayed by all involved. He said, "We are very pleased, as a City and Borough, to be hosting the students from Paraiba, Brazil and it's great to see the involvement of all the SERC students in putting this event together. This has also been one of the most impressive luncheon displays that I have attended."

Paul Barr, Foundation Degree Course Director at SERC, said, "This was a fantastic opportunity for foundation degree students to put their event management skills to the test, and was a great example of collaboration between student groups from the hospitality and culinary arts schools in SERC who worked together to organise the event for our visitors. "