PUPILS from Sunderland's Grange Park Primary School are being given a helping hand to develop their communication skills and to become more active citizens.

They are to receive a visit from the BT Education Programme, which uses drama performances and interactive workshops to demonstrate the importance of good communication skills.

A number of schools in the region will be visited over the next three months. The aim is to help them prepare for the BT Schools Awards, which offer 240 cash awards of £2,000 each to support school citizenship projects with a communications theme.