MORE than 200 primary school children got a taste of Dutch-style sport at a gala event in Durham yesterday.

The festival of international sporting activities had been organised by students from Holland and the North-East, who have been taking part in a week-long exchange visit.

As part of an ongoing project run by the British Council and the Youth Sports Trust, 16 teenagers from four schools in Holland teamed up with four North-East schools for a week of training in leadership and cultural awareness. The two groups were based at Durham Gilesgate Sports College and Sixth Form Centre for the scheme, which culminated with a Festival of Sport.

The festival, which saw more than 200 primary school children from the Durham area take part, had been organised by those on the exchange visit.

Staged at Soccerena in the city, under the guidance of the teenage organisers, the young pupils were given a chance to participate in a variety of sports, including kors ball, a Dutch game which is a combination of basketball and netball and is played by boys and girls.

An organiser of the exchange visit said: "The venture has proved a huge success, and we are now looking forward to taking a party of sports college students from the region to Holland.''