Fiesta at Bourne Community College

For more than five years the Southbourne school has been involved with the Comenius Project, a European Union scheme which aims to create partnerships across Europe and improve education standards.

It celebrated Comenius Week by highlighting the languages spoken by their partner schools, focusing on Spanish, and held a video conference with a school in Avila.

They invited the then mayor of Chichester, Michael Woolley, to join them and meet staff and members of the council of Avila during the conference.

In keeping with the Spanish theme, pupils enjoyed a traditional dish of paella served with tortilla and Spanish chicken which was prepared by pupils and a lecturer from Chichester College of Technology and served in the school cafe.

They were also treated to some sounds of Spain thanks to the school’s music department.

Headteacher Margaret Eva said: “The Comenius programme has allowed our students to work closely with our partners in Avila in Spain and in the Netherlands and Romania.

“We are now working on our third project with Spain, this time focusing on international and personal development, using the ideals of the Olympics.”

The head of EU Programmes at the British Council, Simon Williams, said: “We congratulate Bourne Community College on the great work they have done through the Comenius programme and wish them continued success.”