STUDENTS from a Teesside college are pulling out all the stops to repay the hospitality of some new-found friends from the other side of Europe.

The students, from Prior Pursglove College, Guisborough, recently received an "unforgettable welcome" from young people and their families in Minsk, Belarus, in the former Soviet republic.

Now they want to raise funds to help their new friends visit them in east Cleveland.

To help raise the cash, the students are using the Unicef 2001 international calendar - which displays the work of talented art students from the college - to help put some money into the kitty.

It features work by Prior students Vicky Easy and Caroline Webb, both 17, as well as work by students from Warsett School, Brotton, who were also involved in the exchange scheme.

The international calendar also features work by students from Minsk, Madrid, France and Redcar, and Cleveland's twin town of Troisdorf in Germany.

Sam Campion, head of art at Prior Pursglove College, said he was delighted that the very creative artwork by his students had been included in the children's charity calendar.

"Raising money from the calendar is a great way of saying thank-you to the wonderful people we met in Minsk during a four-nation youth confer- ence.

"Belarus is a very poor country but the people are incredibly generous and very hospitable. We came back with indelible memories."