FOR the sixth year running, pupils from two Hagley schools have returned from an “enlightening” visit to Geneva as guests of the United Nations (UN).

Sixth form students from Hagley Catholic High School and Haybridge High School joined forces with fellow ContinU Trust Wyre Forest pupils from King Charles I School and Stourport High School, for their ‘Global Citizenship Study Programme’.

The group of twenty two students and staff spent four days in the Swiss city, home to dozens of UN bodies, meeting representatives of agencies such as UNICEF, the World Food Programme, UN High Commission for Refugees and the UN Human Rights Committee.

Each student was asked to research the six UN agencies whom they met and prepare questions to put to the experts in their interactive meetings, held at the iconic Palais des Nations.

Sanjeet Dhaliwal, year 13 pupil from Haybridge, said: “It was enlightening to hear about the UN’s role in the global community and the problems tackled by the different agencies.

“It was an unforgettable few days, being able to look at the world from such an international perspective.”

Organiser of the annual visit, Michael Conroy Harris of The ContinU Trust, said: “Watching the students grow in confidence with each meeting was a real pleasure.

“They had clearly done their research and had a real thirst for knowledge. The UN speakers who delivered the sessions all commented on that, which is lovely.”

In addition to the UN agency meetings, the group also spent a half day touring the CERN centre for Nuclear Research, home to the Large Hadron Collider and a control centre for the International Space Station.

The pupils will now share their experiences with fellow students in their schools during the coming autumn term through assemblies, reports and presentations.