AN EBBW Vale primary school is the first in Wales to link with a Mongolian school in a bid to raise awareness of wildlife and conservation in the country.

Glyncoed Primary School will become one of 20 international schools to link with 20 Mongolian schools as part of the Mongolian Artificial Nest Project school links programme.

Year 5 and 6 pupils at Glyncoed have been learning about falconry and why 5,000 artificial nests have been erected on the Mongolian Steppe.

They have linked with Bayan School in Tov Aimag, Mongolia, where 250 artificial nests have been put up near the school in order to create a sustainable population of the birds, which are widely traded in the Arab market.

The students have sent drawings, letters, and Powerpoint presentations to each other and are learning about each other’s culture and country.

Pupils at Glyncoed prepared an assembly about their link with the Mongolian school which was held on Wednesday.

Nicola Dixon, the project manager with International Wildlife Consultants Ltd, said she hoped more Gwent schools will join those in Chicago and Abu Dhabi to link up with Mongolian schools.

To sign up your school to the project, you can email nicola@falcons.

co.uk