Solihull School pupils boosted their Spanish language skills after sharing lessons and leisure time with their exchange partners from Spain.

Seventeen pupils from Colegio Oleza in Orihuela near Alicante were hosted by Year 9 Spanish pupils and their families on a week-long visit to the independent school for boys and girls in Warwick Road.

Pupils on the GCSE course at Solihull enjoyed conversing in Spanish and playing sports with their guests, who involved themselves fully in the life of the school.

They and their teachers accompanied the party on an outing to Cadbury World. The Spanish pupils also visited Stratford upon Avon and Warwick Castle, enjoying a traditional English afternoon tea in the refectory on their return.  

At the Senior School end-of-week assembly, Solihull’s A-level Spanish pupils gave a presentation in Spanish in honour of their guests before presenting them with T-shirts to commemorate their visit.         

Solihull School has a thriving exchange programme with Colegio Oleza, aimed at increasing mutual knowledge of the language and culture of the two nations. Solihull’s GCSE students spent a week in Orihuela last October.

Paul Morgan, Head of Spanish, said: “The visit was a tremendous success in helping our younger pupils to improve their conversational skills and in strengthening the bonds of friendship with our partner school in Spain.

“Our exchange programme is inspiring more and more pupils to study Spanish, which is becoming increasingly important in a modern, globalised world.”