SCHOOL pupils are becoming involved in Helensburgh’s twinning arrangement with the French commune of Thouars.
The twinning arrangement has been in place since 1983, with Helensburgh and District Twinning Association arranging a visit for 34 people to Argyll and Bute last year.
Now details of a project for schools in the two areas to link up have been revealed, with a primary and secondary school already on board with more earmarked to follow.
Councillors have also been asked to approve a funding request of £625 to the twinning association at a meeting of Argyll and Bute Council’s Helensburgh and Lomond area committee on Tuesday, September 8.
In a letter to the council published ahead of the meeting, twinning association secretary Anne Thorn said: “This past year we have been trying to encourage links between schools in Thouars and its surrounding area and schools in the Helensburgh area. We have started a pilot project with a secondary and primary school.
“From this September pupils in Hermitage Academy will correspond with pupils in the Collège Jean Rostand and pupils in Rhu Primary will correspond with pupils in Ecole Maurice Martinon in the small village of Sainte-Verge just outside Thouars.
“Hermitage Primary and St Joseph’s Primary are also interested in this project and we have emailed a number of primary schools in Thouars to see if they would like to link up with these primary schools. Hopefully we will hear back from them soon.
“It would be great for pupils to be able to put their 1+2 languages learning into practice and to have the opportunity to use their language learning to correspond with a real person.
“We are also hopeful that at some point these children and their families will get involved in the Twinning Association and perhaps come on the visit to Thouars which is being planned for July 2027.”
Ms Thorn added: “Another exciting project is that we have established links between local photographers and the Club Photo de Vrines in Thouars.
“It is hoped that both groups will be able collaborate over joint photo exhibitions so that we can raise the profile of the twinning in both towns.
“It may also be possible for a photography exhibition to be arranged for the visit to Thouars in 2027 and the return visit to Helensburgh in 2029.
“Finally, we are supporting the Modern Languages Department in Hermitage Academy through providing a prize for National 5 French and Higher French which will perhaps help to increase the number of pupils studying French at [Hermitage] Academy.”
