SCHOOLCHILDREN came together at the University of Worcester to learn more about themselves and others as part of a Europe-wide project.

Pupils from Abbey Park Middle School in Pershore and St John’s Middle School, Bromsgrove, gathered at the university's St John’s campus for a special conference on the We Are Europe scheme.

They were the only two schools in the UK to be involved in the Erasmus+ project, of which the University of Worcester is the UK partner.

Its ultimate aim is to create a bank of resources to support learning about Europe.

The two schools, with the support of the university, have been developing lesson plans and examples of their work alongside schools from Austria, Poland, Estonia, Finland and Portugal for the project website.

The University of Worcester held the conference to help the children find out about what has been happening on the project, exchange ideas and hear from inspirational speakers.

Its title Know Yourself and Be Open to the Difference of Others is a key theme of the We Are Europe project.

Organisers also hoped to give the schoolchildren a sense of being part of a wider community, at the university, within the UK and globally.

Pupils have been exploring European themes through photography, dance and music.

Some reported back with presentations and one group performed a traditional Hungarian dance.

Teaching veteran, artist and writer Amy Burvall gave a keynote speech to inspire the children to think about how they perceive themselves and others.

The We Are Europe project culminates with a conference in Warsaw in September that brings all the partners together.

Branwen Bingle, senior lecturer in education for the Institute of Education at the University of Worcester and UK lead for the We Are Europe project, said: “Staff and pupils from both schools commented that they learned a lot from our different speakers and were inspired to go and find out more as a result of taking part in the day.

“Feedback from pupils highlighted how much they felt they had learned about others, and how important they thought it was to understand other people’s lives.”