A WYRE Forest village school has been recognised for its work in widening pupils’ horizons, which has included exchange visits with children from four other countries.

Far Forest Lea Memorial CE Primary Academy has achieved the Foundation Level of The British Council’s International School Award.

Pupils welcomed 24 10 and 11-year-olds from Denmark, Spain, Estonia and Latvia, who spent four days at their school in June 2022 and in November last year, six pupils visited Spain for another joint get-together.

Year 5/6 teacher, Lauren Tromans, who accompanied them, said: “It was a brilliant opportunity to collaborate with children from such different countries.”

Pupils have also created booklets packed with their own research on the countries involved in the exchange visits, funded by the European Union’s Erasmus Programme, and chatted to the children abroad on Zoom.

The new school year kicked off with a Spanish Day, with activities including food tasting and flamenco dancing and Key Stage 2 children have started to learn Spanish.

Miss Tromans said: “We will continue the links with the other countries through the teachers and hope the children will become pen pals.

“This kind of work is a great confidence builder for our pupils and allows them to gain a broader understanding of the world, respect for other nations, their way of life and culture.”