AS part of their Comenius Project Mordiford primary school recently welcomed 23 teachers and 20 pupils from partner schools across Europe (Turkey, Northern Ireland, Spain, France, Germany, Poland and Sweden). The week was the culmination of a two year Comenius project called Europe Beyond the Classroom: Learning Outdoors. The teachers stayed in a hotel in Hereford and the pupils were hosted by families from the school, so they really got to live the life of a Mordiford pupil.

The week was full of activities, with the visiting pupils spending time in the KS2 classes and joining in with lessons. The adults taught and observed lessons too. They started the week with a welcome collective worship and Tuesday was forest school day where everyone took part in a session. The guests loved cooking marshmallows over the real fire and making dens and jewellery out of Elder. On Wednesday they visited Warwick Castle and saw the trebuchet being fired and a bird of prey show. All the visitors loved finding out about British history. At school on Thursday we held a sport's morning with everyone taking part in a range of activities, including the Comenius teachers relay race at the end.

Also during the week the teachers visited the Hereford Cathedral, the Mappa Mundi exhibition, did some brass rubbing, took part in a fascinating guided walk around the city (lead by the Hereford Guild of Guides) and had an interesting tour around Weston's Cider.

On Tuesday evening the PTFA organised a hugely successful traditional barn dance, led by the Cradle to the Grave band with fish and chip supper. Even an ice cream van popped in for a visit. It was great to see adults and children (from across Europe and Mordiford) joining in with the dancing, even if they did need a little extra direction from the caller at times.

Everyone at school loved the week and organisers remarked on how great it was to see so many adults and pupils, from the youngest to oldest, happily chatting to the visitors in a range of languages and when necessary using the unspoken language of actions too.