A VILLAGE primary school hosted a ceilidh on Wednesday (March 18) to welcome visitors from France, Ireland and Portugal.

St Cuthbert’s RC School in Crook, is part of a Comenius project which links schools across Europe.

This year’s Smart through Art project has encouraged pupils to develop their creative skills and has given them an opportunity to share similarities and differences between cultures and countries.

The project also aims to develop children's understanding of what it means to be a ‘global citizen’ and pupils have previously visited Portugal, France and Ireland.

Around 30 children and staff from the visiting countries arrived at St Cuthbert’s for the ceilidh before they enjoyed a morning of classes back at the primary school today (Thursday 19).

The visitors had also planned a trip to Durham for a tour of the cathedral.

Funded by the British Council, the project has been running for two years. Headteacher Rosaleen Donnelly said: “The event was a fantastic opportunity to for the parish school and the community to come together and welcome our Comenius visitors.”

Fundraiser and caretaker Catherine Ringwood added: “It was a lovely event and the dancing and the band, Joint Stock, were second to none.”