Accrington Academy students have been heading overseas as part of an exciting EU initiative.

Erasmus+ is the European Union’s new programme for education, training, youth and sport and is aimed at boosting skills and employability, as well as supporting the modernisation of education, training and youth systems.

As part of the venture, Accrington Academy’s Year 9 pupils have been involved with fellow students from the Aland Islands, Poland, Lithuania, Turkey and Catalonia, learning how celebrations take place in each respective country.

This has been achieved through skills such as storyboarding, set design, sound, film and model making, as well as hosting students to live with them for five days.

For Maddison Smith, Ellie Blockeel and Sophie Wooton, a trip to Lithuania was top of the agenda. Accompanied by the academy’s head of art, Miss Brady, and Mr Ashman, the excellence practitioner in technology, the group enjoyed a taste of the local culture while also taking part in animation workshops.

They also played host when staging an ‘England’ evening for the parents and students from the other participating countries. Andy O’Brien, Accrington Academy Principal, said: “Erasmus+ has provided our students with an excellent opportunity to sample first hand life in other european countries, while also acting as ambassadors for the UK – a role in which they all excelled.”