Cultural barriers broken by pupils working together

The 20 young people from The Regis School joined together to learn more about each other’s cultures.

Their ten-week course at the Phoenix Centre on the school’s campus ended with a presentation ceremony of certificates and a buffet of their national foods.

One of those who took part, Kaspian Paszkowski, 12, from Poland, said: “We all enjoyed the course. I’ve met new friends and learnt better English. Before, I didn’t know much about the tenses of words like ‘will be’ and ‘was’.”

Fellow Polish student Katarzyna Ciesielska, 13, said: “It was really fun playing the sports. I played cricket, stoolball and volleyball. It’s good to be able to speak English better as well.”

The course included hard-hitting Q&A sessions to break down barriers, games, painting and photography. It was a joint venture between The Regis School and West Sussex County Council’s youth support and development service.

Julie Ivey, a team manager with the service, said: “The aim is to help young people, particularly from Eastern Europe, to integrate into the community and get to know English pupils.”

Youth worker Maria Parton said: “All the activities were aimed at getting the students talking English all the time. They were shy when they arrived. Now they are buzzing.”