A COLLEGE teacher is taking part in a South African exchange scheme aimed at improving schools at home and abroad.

Melanie Lyons is one of a dozen teachers from across the United Kingdom, taking part in the British Council-funded project to forge new links with schools overseas.

Mrs Lyons, of Ferryhill Business and Enterprise College, in County Durham, has already visited South Africa to meet education chiefs.

This week, she hosted a visit by Mashudu Netshandama, deputy headteacher at Thengwe Secondary School in the Limpopo Province.

Mr Netshandama told teachers, governors and pupils at Ferryhill that many of his 1,750 pupils make a 100km round-trip each day, learn in classes of up to 100 youngsters and share access to one computer. Mrs Lyons said: "If we can share and use each other's ideas, I think we will learn to appreciate what we have and develop better cultural awareness and in return help to raise funds and share our as many of our resources."

Mr Netshandama said: "The ICT resources here are wonderful, the smaller class groups are good and I will take back ideas I've learned such as discipline to use in my school.

"I hope this will just be the start of a relationship to benefit both communities."