YOUNGSTERS at a Malvern primary school have been welcoming special visitors from Tanzania as part of a seven-week festival embracing African culture.

Somers Park School, in Somers Park Avenue, began its Africa festival last month and, this week, a teacher linked to Chumbageni School in Tanga, Tanzania, paid a visit to talk to pupils about teaching in the country.

The school also welcomed five Tanzanian guests on Wednesday who took an assembly, told youngsters about Tanzanian life and taught them some Swahili.

All 460 of the school's pupils have been involved in the project, with professional dance and drama instructors and artists coming in to work with the children.

Zulu dancers have also put on a performance, with youngsters making Tanzanian huts, shields and studying the country's geography and learning about migration.

Headteacher Stewart Sewell said: "It's just such a wonderful atmosphere of shared learning with the teachers and children in the school"

The scheme is part of the school's ongoing Chums initiative, which comprises a triangle of schools across the world - Somers Park, Chumbageni and The Key School in Annapolis in the US.

The World Bank presented the school with a Global Village international award for the Chums project - for which Mr Sewell has worked in Tanzania for a month - earlier this year. The Africa project is set to culminate in a two-week visit from three teachers from Chumbageni and three from The Key School to teach the children and hold a conference.

Youngsters will then perform their Tanzanian songs, drumming and dancing against a backdrop of their artwork in a special event at Malvern Theatres in July.