CONTEXT Founded in 1922 as the first co-educational grammar school in England, Noel-Baker is a now mixed school of approximately 2,000 pupils. In 2008, Noel-Baker (via the Noel-Baker Basketball Academy) became one of the first institutions in the UK to deliver the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence (AASE) framework on behalf of Basketball England. AASE is a unique sporting vocational qualification for young people who have the realistic potential to achieve excellence in their sport by competing on the world stage or securing a professional contract. OBJECTIVES The primary aim of this project was to further enhance and improve the vocational training and development of Apprentices at the Noel-Baker Basketball Academy. Working with BC Ninane in Belgium, the project also aimed to provide greater exit and progression opportunities for students upon completion of the Academy programme. The project had 3 overarching strategic objectives: OBJECTIVE 1: Facilitating the transfer of European training methods, development environments, techniques and philosophies into both the Noel-Baker Basketball Academy programme and Apprentices. OBJECTIVE 2: Exposing the students to the European opportunities in both sport and other careers so these can be explored and more readily understood, accepted and pursued in the future. OBJECTIVE 3: Embedding LLP principles into the training and development programme and working cultures in order to equip students with the aptitude and skills to pursue employment, either within sport or outside of it, throughout their career. NUMBER AND PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS Participants were the 24 (male and female) Apprentices undertaking the Noel-Baker Basketball Academy programme in the 2014/15 academic year (i.e. the 2013 and 2014 cohorts). These Apprentices were selected for the Academy programme primarily on the basis of their basketball ability and therefore incorporated a wide range of academic abilities, socioeconomic circumstances and ethnic backgrounds. PROJECT ACTIVITIES The majority of the activities took place at the facilities of host partner BC Ninane, including: - Regular training sessions to address the defined sports performance targets. - Games versus high quality Belgian youth teams. - Observation of elite level games and training sessions. - Presentations from elite level coaches addressing the key project objectives. - Daily feedback and evaluation sessions to confirm goal setting/reflection. BC Ninane has outstanding links at a local, regional and national level which enabled Noel-Baker to enhance the activities of participants. For example: - Access to high quality local and regional basketball clubs with activities including training sessions and games at high quality training facilities. - A visit to the Royal Belgian Basketball Federation to undertake work shadowing, observe the professional practices and explore exit pathways. - Observation of a live Basketball League Belgium (BLB) Basketball game. METHODOLGY Noel-Baker used the principles of the European Quality Charter for Mobility to set goals and define tasks for the key elements of the project: 1) INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE: production of clear and accessible resources. 2) LEARNING PLAN: clearly defined project objectives and role of each partner in achieving them. 3) PERSONALISATION: pre-visit assessment of participants' desired learning outcomes. 4) PREPARATION: a structured preparation programme tailored to individual needs. 5) LANGUAGE: provision of formal and informal language training. 6) LOGISTICS: a formal contract to be signed by both parties outlining practical and logistical responsibilities. 7) MENTORING: provision of suitably qualified staff to facilitate achievement of individual goals and ensure integration. 8) RECOGNITION: delivery of formal instruments to recognise individual learning outcomes in addition to institutional recognition. 9) EVALUATION: comprehensive and objective evaluation of all aspects of the project. 10) RESPONSIBILITIES: agreement by all parties on their roles and responsibilities in the successful delivery of the project, formalised in writing via a Service Level Agreement and individual participant Learning Plans. IMPACTS The impacts on participants have included: - Progression against vocational qualifications. - Development of life skills and experience that can be utilised throughout participants' education and careers. - Enhanced cultural and linguistic skills, facilitating openness to new opportunities both in the UK and Europe. - Improved knowledge and understanding of the European opportunities in sport and other careers. The impacts on Noel-Baker have included: - Enhancement of the Basketball Academy programme both in terms of improved technical sporting quality of students and coaches, and also student achievement rates. - Implementation of best practice across the Sports Academy programme and also the wider school. - Improved exit and pro