RVINE kids recently lived La vie Francaise when they visited France for a twin town exchange.

Six members of the Redburn Youth Group visited Irvine’s twin town of Voisins le Bretonneux after their French counterparts visited Irvine during the Easter holidays.

During their visit, the group - made up of six Irvine Royal Academy pupils - delivered a presentation on what they do at the youth centre and school, what interests them and what projects they are involved in.

The group were collected by their French friends at Charles De Gaulle Airport where they were invited to the town’s own youth centre and were given a personal guided tour.

And they certainly had a blast exploring the town of Saint Quentin en Yvelines, indulging in some shopping while exploring the town.

The Redburn youngsters were even invited by the town and council to its sports and activities fayre, to show the cultural, sporting and artistic differences between Irvine and Voisins before a visit to the magnificent Chateau de Versailles.

Councillor John Bruce, cabinet member for education attainment and achievement welcomed the town twinning project.

He said: “The visit to Voisins has been a mutually beneficial exercise with a legacy that will help inform how the council best delivers its youth services.

“Opportunities to collaborate with our French counterparts are always helpful and I am grateful to the Voisins town and council for the hospitality extended to our young ambassadors of North Ayrshire.” Kenny Harrow, Community Education Worker, thought the trip was a tremendous experience “It was very rewarding and a great opportunity to experience and meet young people from another country.

“Everyone in the group responded brilliantly and got involved in all of the activities. They were a credit to themselves, their Youth Group and Irvine Royal Academy.” David Dunlop, a fourth year pupil at Irvine Royal Academy said: “It was a fantastic opportunity and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The French people were really welcoming and friendly too.” And Emma McDermott, a modern apprentice, added: “We all had a great time. It was interesting to see how youth work is provided in France and it was a great learning opportunity.

“Connor – the other Modern Apprentice – and I shared the responsibility of taking the pupils on the trip and we feel it will stand us in good stead for completing our SVQ Level 3 in youth work.” Members of the youth group carried out their own fundraising activities to help support their visit and their family and friends made kind donations.

The group had a stall at the recent Marymass Festival and, amongst other things, encouraged visitors to guess the number of sweets in a jar.

All the money raised through the Redburn Youth Centre fun day was made available to the group while North Ayrshire Council met the remainder of the travel costs.