ALCESTER had more of a European flavour recently as a group of 24 Spanish students came to town to brush up on their English.

The 15-year-old students, who were all from the Galicia region of northern Spain, were in the UK taking part in a three week long immersion course at St Benedict’s Catholic High School as part of a scheme funded by the Spanish government.

More than 400 teenagers were involved in the visit, with some being guests at Henley High School while the rest stayed in Alcester to totally immerse themselves in English life.

Julie McDermott, head of modern languages at St Benedict’s, said: “It was really positive for both our students and the Spanish students, at break times there was lots of interaction going on.

“It really raised the profile of language learning in the school and we hope it will encourage more of our children to continue with their languages.”

The school, which teaches French and Spanish, is organising an exchange trip to Spain with 21 language students in November.