INTERNATIONAL students from a Saudi Arabian school have given North Lincolnshire pupils a fascinating insight into Middle Eastern culture.

Twelve students from King Saud International school in Riyadh paid a special visit to Winterton Comprehensive to experience life in a British secondary school.

The group were accompanied by teacher Liz Bainbridge, head of senior high at King Saud, who used to live in Burton-Upon-Stather.

"The pupils have not experienced anything like this before," said Liz.

"Although we follow the British curriculum, students do not learn music, technology or art, so they experienced subjects they have never been taught before.

"The trip was excellent and all the pupils have really enjoyed it. Saudi Arabia is quite a closed society, so it took a while, but the pupils really started to open up and enjoy the activities."

The visiting students come from a variety of countries across the globe, including Syria, Lebanon and eastern Africa.

Reem Talal, 17, was enthralled by the school's cheerleading lesson.

"I have enjoyed the visit and the pupils at Winterton are very talented," she said.

"Everyone has been very friendly and it has been lots of fun.

"The cheerleading lesson was great – it was very different to the lessons we do.

"The weather was a bit of a shock to us – it is 30 degrees in Saudi, so we are not used to the cold."

After taking part in a variety of lessons, the students enjoyed a game of five-a-side football and a cheerleading lesson.

Aya Majzoup, 17, said there were many differences between the two schools.

"Winterton school is very nice and it is great to see the difference between our schools.

"We have never done some of the subjects before like technology and cooking, art or IT so it is really exciting.

"All of the classrooms are brightly decorated and it makes a lovely learning environment."

Aya explained what the highlights of the trip had been.

She said: "We concentrate on the three sciences, maths and English and a small amount of humanities so it was interesting to try other things.

"I really enjoyed the cheerleading. It was fun trying to learn the moves and all the students were very friendly and patient with us."

Winterton Comprehensive School headteacher John Fitzgerald said the visit had been a great learning experience for both schools.

"The visiting students were paired with 12 of our pupils and they joined in a variety of our lessons.

"For the second half of the day, the boys took part in a football match while the girls joined a cheerleading lesson.

"Our pupils have been able to ask questions and learn more about the Middle Eastern culture and religion."

Mr Fitzgerald added: "The trip was a brilliant success and I hope it can be repeated in the future."