STAFF and students at a school on the outskirts of Bedworth are forging links with the lands of the Bible.
Exhall Grange School and Science College are taking part in a ground-breaking project between schools in the United Kingdom and the Holy Land.
The contacts have been made following a pioneering trip by Jeanette Lomas, a teacher at the school in Wheelwright Lane, Exhall.
She was among four teachers from Warwickshire who journeyed to the Middle East for a project which has been set up by the BibleLands Charity and Warwickshire County Council.
Sue McClellan, BibleLands' representative for Central England, said: "We made visits to key holy sites as well as the Holocaust Memorial and the Separation Barrier.
"These provided a valuable insight into the situation faced by teachers and students in Jerusalem and Bethlehem."
The ground-breaking links are designed to broaden the horizons of pupils at selected schools in Warwickshire and to help them with their citizenship skills.
Exhall Grange School caters for blind, partially sighted and disabled students and has won world-wide recognition.
Head teacher John Tudman said: "We are one of only 11 designated schools for the visually impaired in the country and the opportunity to make international links will be invaluable for both staff and students."
His views were echoed by Judith Young. Warwickshire County Council's International Development Officer for Schools.
She said: " We are delighted to be involved in this ground-breaking project and are looking forward to seeing these relationships develop over the years through joint curriculum projects and the sharing of good practice."
BibleLands is the largest non-governmental provider of support to the Holy Land and has been working in the region since 1854.
A Christian agency, it operates in partnership with more than 50 project partners in the lands of the Bible, primarily in Israel, Palestine, Egypt and Lebanon.
Among its aims are help Christians in those areas respond to changing needs through education, health and community development.
PIONEER... Jeanette Lomas from Exhall Grange School and Science College, who has been on a ground-breaking visit to the Holy Land.