I spent this morning with the Mayor in the Mayor’s Parlour. We were there to interview candidates for the Goethe Scholarship.

Germany supports the knowledge of German Language and Culture through the Goethe Institutes. Loughborough’s Twin Town of Schwäbisch Hall is one of many towns able to offer one scholarships each year to a young person to spend 4 weeks learning German, living with a family and learning about Germany. It is a brilliant idea and will cement closer links between young British people and Germany. We had three excellent candidates and spent a long time deciding between them. All their course fees, all the accommodation and some spending money will be covered by the scholarship.

Reports from previous recipients can be found on the Twinning Website.

http://tiny.cc/TwinTown

I really enjoyed seeing the enthusiasm of the candidates for closer links with Germany.

It is really sad that there are some who argue that we should withdraw from Europe. I worry that a Conservative UKIP alliance may offer a referendum on future membership of the European Union. Leaving the EU would be a disaster for the UK and for all the work that I and others have done to support twinning links.

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