Pupils from a Swansea Valley school have recently been on a trip to France as part of an award-winning project funded by the Erasmus and the British Council

The Lefèvre project, called Keep Fit! saw 28 pupils from Year 9 and 10 from Ysgol Gymraeg Ystalyfera visit Bourg en Bresse and Collège les Côtes in March last year.

Whilst at Bourg en Bresse, the pupils participated in several activities including creating a fitness video, cooking traditional French cuisines and visiting the Olympic museum at Lausanne.

The Welsh pupils teamed up with the French students gaining valuable experience and allowed them to improve their French.

In April 2017, the French pupils of Bourg en Bresse were hosted by Ystalyfera pupils for four days.

They participated in a treasure hunt around the school, a visit to Cardiff Principality Stadium, Cardiff Castle, and a “Noson Gawl” where talented Welsh youngsters provided an evening of cultural diversity.

The project won a Gold Award for Excellence at the eTwinning National Awards last month.

The project began with pupils using the eTwinning website to introduce themselves in the language they were learning at school.

They continued to communicate via letters and cards, and the arrival of the mail from Wales or France was an exciting time for all the pupils.

In June last year, pupils from Wassigny visited Ystalyfera to compete in the Home Games, a day of competitions where pupils from both schools were mixed into teams and went against other in a series of challenges.

This is what some of the pupils had to say about their experience from the project.

Carwyn said: "I have been given an opportunity to share ideas and experiences whilst practising my communication skills."

Mari added: " It is really nice to make friends from other countries."

"I have improved my French vocabulary,” said Rebecca.

Daisy and Alys added: " We are definitely more confident in speaking French now"