PRIMARY school staff are being given the chance to brush up on their foreign language skills at an intensive, practical course overseas.

Durham County Council has been awarded just over €90,000 from the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme, which will allow 44 primary school staff to attend language schools in France and Spain.

The teachers, who work in 13 schools in County Durham and two other North East schools, will take part in a week-long course during school holidays.

It follows a visit of Spanish Ambassador Don Carlos Bastarreche Sagües to St John’s School and Sixth Form in Bishop Auckland earlier this year.

A training day, entitled Jornadas de Español, will bring professionals together to share ideas around the teaching of Spanish on Saturday, June 23.

The event is being led by the Spanish Embassy Education Office in collaboration with the council and Durham University and will include a variety of workshops from 9am to 4pm.

Councillor Olwyn Gunn, cabinet member for children and young people, said: “Teachers play an extremely important role in instilling a love of languages in pupils at an early age.”