SCHOOL pupils trailblazing a project to cross cultural barriers through art were visited by a delegation from the Chinese embassy on Monday.

The drop-in marked the culmination of a series of workshops by China Link Arts at five schools in the Derwentside district.

Artist Chun-Chao spent three days at each of five Derwentside schools, involving more than 1,000 children from nursery to GCSE in water colour painting, opera mask painting and lantern making.

Then Chinese cultural and education officers travelled from London to give a talk to a group of pupils aged 14-16 in Consett.

The delegation took the chance to look at the youngsters' artwork, and a group of seven and eight-year-olds brushed up the Mandarin they had already learned to tell the delegates about their experiences.

The project was co-ordinated by Consett Junior School head David Yates, who was asked by the Chinese Assocation North East Region to handle the job after a chance meeting in a Chinese takeaway.

He said: "The idea is to support ethnic minority groups in the North-East and make pupils aware of the groups in region.

"The way to do this is through art and education - putting artists in schools where children can learn about their cultures.

"The experience enabled children to learn traditional Chinese art methods and the meaning of colour and significance of different art subjects as they relate to Chinese legend.

"They were also able to experiment using traditional materials including Chinese paint brushes and rice paper.

"As well as this the artist spoke of beliefs and traditions and taught children some simple Chinese phrases."

The whole workshop was funded through Northern Arts as a pilot project for a bigger programme which will be rolled out throughout County Durham and eventually the rest of the region.

The Chinese delegates also attended a business lunch and met representatives from the Darlington & Durham County Racial Equality Council, CANER (Chinese Association North East Region), Durham LEA and heads of the schools involved.