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

The visit marks the culmination of a series of workshops by China Link Arts at five schools in the Derwentside district.

Chinese cultural and education officers will travel from London to give a talk to a group of pupils, aged 14 to 16, in Consett - and they will look at work that has already been done with artist Chun-Chao over a 15-day workshop with the five schools.

A group of seven to eight- year-olds, who have been brushing up their Mandarin, learned as part of the project, will also tell the delegates about their experiences.

Consett Junior School headteacher David Yates was approached by the Chinese Association North-East Region to co-ordinate the project 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."

More than 1,000 children from nursery to GCSE students have been involved. The artist spent three days in each school introducing watercolour paintings, opera mask painting and lantern making.

Mr Yates said: "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 his 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 will also attend a business lunch where they will meet representatives from the Darlington and Durham County Racial Equality Council, Caner (Chinese Association North-East Region), Durham education authority and heads of the schools involved.