Here’s what three of them said at the end of their six – week stint in India

   Charlotte Jackson

“I spent my first two weeks in India learning about the culture and language of the country. During this time, a highlight for me was definitely a visit to Agra to see the Taj Mahal.

The first view of the Taj Mahal is simply breathtaking! The detail on the exterior of the white marble panels is exquisite with Islamic calligraphy decorating the tomb and the four symmetrical minarets standing proudly. We all absolutely loved the Taj and I would recommend it to everyone as a masterpiece to visit at some point in your lifetime!

Overall, the whole experience was fantastic! I learned lots about the Indian culture, education system and business practices as well as personally gaining confidence and independence and I now feel ready to tackle the challenge of moving to London for my university studies!

I also met some incredible people on the trip and made friends for life!

The PMGF scheme is running again this year so I would urge all school leavers and gap year students to apply, particularly from the North East as we were definitely under-represented this year! You won't regret the experience!”

   Alice Thornton

“The programme attracted me from the start because we will be living and interacting with people in India at home, school and in the workplace.

This programme is important because it promotes the idea that success, in the future, will depend on our ability to understand and relate to people across the globe.”

   Luke Pollard

“I wanted to go to India because it has such a diverse culture – the opposite of Cornwall - with so many religions that co-exist.”

In his first fortnight in Delhi and Chennai, on the east coast, he studied Hindi and Tamil, attended lectures by Pune University academics on India’s history, geography and economy, and visited markets and tourist sites including the Taj Mahal.

“Thank you for showing us that we are citizens of the world, not just citizens of the UK”, said fellow Luke Pollard from Falmouth in Cornwall, presenting a commemorative book documenting the fellows’ experience to Gordon Brown. “We’re now going to work to make sure that everyone realises that.”