TWO 13-year-old students from High Wycombe said they were “humbled, amazed and astounded” after spending almost a week in the classroom of a school in India.

Elfin Bull and Emma Beaton, Year eight pupils from The Highcrest Academy, travelled to Chennai in the south east of the country on the Bay of Bengal, to the Academy’s partner school, P.S.B.B KK Nagar, as part of a special cultural and educational project.

Elfin said: “It was an incredible week with many new things seen and tasted. It was a privilege to meet such enthusiastic and dedicated pupils.”

The trip, funded by The British Council and the girls’ families, came about thanks to a link originally forged with the Indian school by a Highcrest governor in 2008.

It followed a visit by two teachers from Chennai to High Wycombe in April this year. Last month’s return trip by the students was a pilot and could be the first of several.

Elfin and Emma said they were humbled when they realised “how privileged we are with the size of our houses, food and availability of water.”

Each morning, the two Wycombe students were paired for lessons, with a cultural or academic activity every afternoon.

The hosts treated the Bucks group to a spectacular showcase of Indian dancing, as well as a flash mob demonstration on water conservation.

The pupils said they were “amazed” at the number of students at the school - PSBB teaches 5,000 on a site smaller than that of The Highcrest Academy, which has just fewer than 1000 students.

Two teachers from Highcrest accompanied the pupils. Jo Solman, was able to teach several Geography lessons at the partner school.

Miss Solman said: “the idea of these visits is to bridge cultures and further our understanding of education."