ENGLISH students in Darlington received a helping hand with their GCSE coursework from a Royal Shakespeare Company actor yesterday.

Darren Tunstall is touring with the company's production of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, which will be performed at Middlesbrough in spring.

By coincidence, his nephew Jamie Bowman is studying the play for his GCSE English examination at Carmel RC Technology College.

To help Jamie and his classmates get a better feel for the play, Darren went back to the classroom.

English teacher Jackie White said: "He gave them a lot of ideas and set the play in context for them, explaining the background, not through drama, but discussion.

"The kids seemed to enjoy it. They were very attentive and it is nice for them to hear a different voice."