THE modern language department at Tenbury High School has just completed exchange visits from its partner schools in Germany and France.

Its French exchange is now in its 17th year and its German exchange is in its third year

The 15 German partners and their two teachers from Gertrud Von Le Fort Gymnasium in Oberstdorf came to Tenbury for a week that included visits to Ludlow, Worcester and London.

Students took part in lessons at Tenbury High School, had a cake making session and went bowling.

A total of 29 French students and their two teachers from Collège Yves Montand in Le Theil, together with Mme Martine Promteau who is now retired from the school but still organises the exchange visits, also came for a week.

They attended a school disco together and the group visited London, Birmingham, Stratford, Worcester and Ironbridge.

Tenbury High pupils are fortunate that the school has been able to maintain two European exchange links at a time when so many other schools around the country no longer find it possible to run them.

The visits to Le Theil and Oberstdorf provide pupils with an opportunity to experience real life in a foreign country and to learn much more about the culture of the host countries than they would on a normal holiday visit.

As a result the love of language learning is alive in the school where there is again a 70% plus uptake for languages at GCSE and where many pupils continue their study of languages at A Level after they leave.