A GROUP of foreign exchange students have left a lasting impression on Darlington’s mayor.

Five Russian pupils from a school in the Nevskiy area St Petersburg, Russia, met mayor Jim Ruck and presented a bronze statute of a bridge in their district to him on behalf of the borough.

The pupils, who are in the town for two weeks, were from School 639, which is the partner school of Darlington’s Hummersknott School.

They are visiting Darlington along with their head teacher, English teacher and Ms Spiridonova, the Head of LEA of Nevskiy District in St.Petersburg, as part of an English course.

The group were given a tour of the Mayor's Parlour and the Council Chamber and learn more about the role of the council.

Hummersknott School established a link with School 639 five years ago and runs a series of exchange programmes for Russian and English pupils to improve their English and Russian skills respectively. Pupils at Hummersknott can study Russian up to GSCE level.

Coun Ruck said: “It went wonderfully well. I thought they were all lovely people. They were all so interested, they really were.

“We had a question and answer session in the mayor’s parlour and it was a really nice atmosphere. It was very friendly.”