Police praised by biggest language school

That is why Sue Seymour, local organiser for the past 14 years for the largest school, Europartner, is full of praise for Bexhill police and its local student protection group BOSAC.

She says of the police action in organising an identity parade before student victims returned home: "It was amazing how quickly they worked."

Only a few years ago the entire overseas student "industry" in the town was in jeopardy. Language students, with their carefully-saved pocket money, cameras and mobile phones, were seen as a soft target by a minority of local youths.

Sue Seymour says: "Since BOSAC was developed the number of student assaults has gone down and down.

"We work very closely with Sergeant Trish Reeve-Fowkes.

"She comes here because we have the school here too. She talks to the leaders when they arrive and we have a very good relationship with her.

"All the leaders say they feel safe when they come here. They have a talk with her on their first day.

"We can now take the statements on computer and the leaders just come in an translate them.

"The leaders feel so confident with the set-up and so impressed by it compared with other towns.

"They like it because they know that can get a quick response."

Euorpartners has been operating in Bexhill for 23 years. This year, between March and October, it will have brought more than 2,000 13 to 17 year-old German students to Bexhill to learn English.

The organisation also brings adults to learn the language.

Now is the season's peak. This week there are 400 German students alone in Bexhill.

The organisation budgets for 300 per student, the costs including payments to host families, hall bookings and train fares.

Students also have another 50 a head to spend on additional train fares and admission to places of interest.

Europartners also spends up to 10,000 a year with local firms on coach hire and up to another 10,000 on the hire of halls.

Sue Seymour says: "It is a lot of money. And this is only one school. Then the student have their own pocket money to spend locally.

"It is an important part of the economy. Host families look on it as a little extra pocket money. We have built up a really caring community of host families."