Two Finnish sports stars visited an East Lothian primary school to celebrate the links pupils have developed with a primary school in their home country.

Hibernian Football Club manager Mixu Paatelainen and British Premier League speedway racer Tero Aarnio visited Yester Primary School in Gifford to see the school's successful eTwinning project, A Healthy Passport in action.

The project was built up by using a blog to exchange information between Yester Primary School and Kuvansin koulu Primary School, near Varkaus in eastern Finland.

A Healthy Passport is part of our eTwinning programme which enables schools in 28 European countries to work together using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), supporting links for pupils and staff. The project encourages pupils in both countries to swap stories about their own cultures and lifestyles.

One of the aims of the programme is to bring a European dimension to the school curriculum through intercultural dialogue. Through their eTwinning project, the Scottish and Finnish pupils have become more effective communicators and more responsible and competent citizens. Overall, individual pupil confidence has risen with the use of ICT tools.

Mixu and Tero were impressed with the high levels of enthusiasm, knowledge and skill that the Yester Primary School pupils demonstrated in their presentation of blogging, videos and podcasts. Mixu said:

'It's been wonderful to see the excellent work that the children have done. It's amazing to see how well organised the project has been and how much the children in both classes have learned from each other.'

The pupils were excited to meet the two Finnish celebrities, posing for photographs on Tero Aarnio's motorcycle and asking Mixu Paatelainen all about his glittering football career.

Michael Purves, Primary 5 teacher at Yester Primary School and eTwinning ambassador, said, 'We are thrilled that Mixu Paatelainen and Tero Aarnio have been able to visit our school and see our Healthy Passport project and the links we have with Kuvansin koulu Primary School in Finland.'

For more information, visit our eTwinning web site or contact us: etwinning@britishcouncil.org.