Wells Central School has two new faces this term.

Marie-Elaine Carroll and Jodie Forsyth have come from Washington DC, USA, and Mississauga, Canada, respectively as new teaching staff for the term which started this week.

They are joining on the back of a new teaching initiative, the International Primary Curriculum, which started in September last year.

Ms Carroll is the new deputy head, replacing Jackie Smith who left on an exchange, and Ms Forsyth is a classroom teacher.

The International Primary Curriculum (IPC) is a teaching programme designed to introduce international topics to the pupils, such as learning about other countries and their customs.

It is recognised by Ofsted as an excellent way of teaching children.

Steve Turner, head teacher at Wells Central, said: "We decided to adopt the IPC as a way to add a new flavour to teaching here, creating vibrancy and exciting topics for the pupils.

"We had applications from all over the world. We wanted someone who had experience teaching with IPC.

"It also gave us the benefit of us having a new teaching direction by having someone who was already familiar with this initiative. Marie-Elaine will be coming from an international school, which is brilliant."

The pupils showed that they had an enthusiasm for the international initiative by participating in an "airport project" after a trip to Bristol International Airport.

The pupils learned about specific areas of the airport such as the check-in desks, baggage handling, security and customs.

In classes, pupils would take different roles that they were shown and play them out, turning the school into a temporary airport. Each of the six classes adopted a country to perform as, with each one also being a plane's cabin crew.

Mr Turner added: "During this project, a large number of parents came over to have a look at what their children were doing. A lot of them felt their children were more engaged in their classes in school and at home. And of course the children had lots of fun.

"There was a lot of positive feedback and comments from parental questionnaires and the comments book. We're all very enthusiastic about it."