AUSTRIAN students saw a city's sights yesterday as part of an educational visit to the area.

A group of 28 students and two teachers from Baki School for nursery nurses, in Oberwart, is staying in Durham with local families.

The school's annual visit, now in its tenth year, aims to introduce the students to British nursery teaching, as well as enabling them to see local sights.

During their week-long stay, they are spending mornings at nurseries and primary schools and using their leisure time to explore Durham and the surrounding area.

Their visits came about after Laura Laird, from Durham, spent a year as a language assistant at Baki School, from 1992.

The head of English, Walter Schwartz, was planning a trip to the UK, and Ms Laird helped him to finalise it.

He said: "Laura helped me to find schools which would take my pupils.

"They go to nursery and primary schools to see how things are done here.

"They definitely gain a lot from the experience."