A GROUP of 50 German students visited Widnes to experience life in a British school.

The pupils aged 13 and 14 spent a day at SS Peter and Paul Catholic College.

Children from both schools put their language skills to the test at a ‘speed dating’ challenge.

Dawn Coupar, joint head of languages at SS Peter and Paul College, said: “Our students were amazing, beyond my expectations.

“They were shy and unsure at first but once they got into the swing of it, they soon realised that the German students were just like them.

“There was a real buzz. Conversation steered towards FIFA on the xbox and exchanging user names to arranging online games.

“It’s been a great experience for our students to practice their language skills .”

The German visitors from Max Planck Gymnasium in Gross-Umstadt near Frankfurt had already exchanged videos and become pen pals with some English students.

The two schools met through a Comenius project in 2011, which links pupils across Europe.