PUPILS at Droitwich Spa High School are benefiting from a long-standing exchange programme with children in India The Briar Mill school has had a highly successful international partnership with Ramjas School, a secondary school of more than 2,000 students in Delhi, since 2006.

Links between the two schools was strengthened when a group of 14 students and four teachers from Ramjas School arrived for a week-long stay on Saturday, September 15.

The visitors, led by headteacher Mrs Rachna Pant, stayed with families of sixth form students.

Spa youngsters were treated to a performance of traditional Indian dance by the pupils from Delhi, one of whom was chosen to perform at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October 2010.

Students from Ramjas School also led a sports festival in which Droitwich students learned to play pitthu, a traditional Indian street game. Amongst many activities that the Indian pupils enjoyed during their stay was walking and climbing in the Malvern Hills and taking bell boats out on the town’s canal.

Mrs Karen Moore, deputy headteacher at Droitwich High School, said: “We are very proud of our international links at the high school. We have partner schools in Africa, in India and in New Zealand and every year the students involved in the exchanges are always so full of excitement for what is very often the trip of a lifetime.

“The programme allows students from both ends of the link to undertake joint curriculum projects in a number of areas such as sports leadership, music and literature. In the future there will also be work on climate change, healthy living, sustainability, conflict resolution and further development of student leadership.”

Sixth form students at Droitwich High School are now preparing for a trip to Delhi at the end of the month. They will experience life with an Indian family, see the sights of Delhi, visit the Taj Mahal in Agra and complete a trek in the Himalayas.