PUPILS at Hermitage Academy, and their families, have been playing host to a group of young people from Spain as part of the school's foreign exchange programme.

The group of pupils and teachers from IES Mar Menor, in the town of San Javier, Murcia, arrived in Scotland on Thursday and returned home on Tuesday.

This week's visit followed a trip to Spain in November by a group of Hermitage pupils and teachers.

The Spanish group stayed with Hermitage pupils and their families throughout their time in Scotland.

Suzanne Murray, who teaches modern languages at Hermitage Academy and organises the annual programme, said: “This is the fifth year of the exchange and it's working very successfully so far.

“They had a tour of the school on Thursday, when Mr Irvine from the PE department gave them some social dancing lessons, and had trips to Inveraray on Friday and to Edinburgh on Monday.

“The exchange programme is open to pupils from S3 to S6, but this year pupils from S3 and S4 took part due to the senior pupils' other commitments.

“San Javier is quite similar to Helensburgh – it's located on the coast and has a military airbase nearby.

“Some of our pupils have been on the programme twice – in fact, one of the girls from the first year of our exchange programme is now living and studying in Murcia.

“It makes a big difference to their academic prospects and their lives and gives them a real motivation to keep studying.”

Lucia Saez, one of the teachers who accompanied the San Javier party on their visit to Helensburgh, said: “Language is not just another subject – when you study a language you gain an awareness of another culture at the same time.

“Both our schools are similar. We have the same number of students, and the pupils on the exchange have the same age, so we try to mix together students who have similar hobbies, likes and dislikes.

“We consider this a very good experience, not just to learn a language but to learn the culture of another country.

“Some of the pupils at the end have become friends and can go to Spain in the summer, or pupils from Spain can come here.

“It's not just an experience for two weeks. Perhaps they will form friendships forever.”

In addition to the exchange programme with IES Mar Menor, Hermitage also has exchange arrangements in place with schools in France, Germany and the US state of Georgia.

Hermitage head teacher Geoff Urie said: “I'm delighted at the success of all our exchange programmes.

“They're a great opportunity for our pupils to sample different cultures and definitely help improve their language skills, as well as being an excellent opportunity for teachers' professional development.”