EUROPEAN sporting rivalries were banished in Oxford as teenagers from Scotland and Germany visited students at a Blackbird Leys college.

The project, which will initially run for two years, is the result of a €22,000 grant secured by Oxford and Cherwell Valley College’s football development facility.

The centre, which combines football coaching with academic studies and counts former Oxford United striker Matty Taylor among its alumni, secured funding as part of a European Union initiative to unite teaching institutions across the continent.

Early next year, students from Oxford will visit colleges in Norway and France on five-day trips.

But this week it was the turn of a dozen students from Hanse-Berufskolleg College in Lemgo, Germany, and Jewel and Esk College in Edinburgh, Scotland, to join their English counterparts.

The youngsters enjoyed trips to Wembley Stadium, Thorpe Park and London’s shops.

They also went bowling and go-karting and took part in a football tournament at Oxford Brookes University.

Football development manager Des Buckingham said: “Each college has brought six students and four members of staff – it’s been a great week.

“The idea is the cultural experience breaks down barriers between young people and they’ve bonded so well.

“It couldn’t have gone better.

“This link means we will travel to Norway in February and then France in April and that concludes this year’s trips.

“Then we will host the students from Norway and France the following year.

“It’s a two-year project and hopefully we can keep it going after that.

“We would need to apply for funding and hopefully, if this week is anything to go by, we will have lots of evidence of their success.”

Student Adam Felix, 17, from Sandford said: “It’s been really good and we’ve all become really close.

“We’ve played football with the boys and the German girls taught us an aerobics class, so it’s been a real different mix.”

Dec McGovern, 18, from Cowley, said: “It’s been absolutely fantastic.

“Everyone has got on so well and it’s been really good for both parties.

“With things like Facebook I’m sure we’ll all keep in touch.

“I’m definitely looking forward to going to other colleges abroad.

“It’ll be a different experience to see how we get on out there and I’m sure the hospitality will be great.”

tairs@oxfordmail.co.uk