A GWENT school is at the centre of a burgeoning new cosmopolitan community.

Over the past year and a half, Abergavenny has seen a steady influx of nurses from the Philippines - recruited to ease the shortage of nurses at nearby Nevill Hall Hospital.

Now Our Lady and St Michael's Primary School in the market town has 16 Filipino children on its roll and is expecting six more before the end of the year.

The children's parents are employed by the NHS at Nevill Hall.

Head teacher John Healy said: "The first Filipino children came to us about 15 months ago and there has been a steady stream ever since. "When some arrive they can't speak any English at all, but being immersed within the culture and language, they pick it up very easily."

The school also uses the Gwent Education Multi-Ethnic Service (GEMS), which provides a specialist teacher for the children, aged from four to ten, for a day and a half each week.

Mr Healy said: "Our class numbers have risen and we have had to provide new classrooms as a result of the growing numbers as we are the only Catholic school in the area.

"They really are delightful children and have settled into our school community exceptionally well, and our pupils benefit from the mix of language and culture.

"More generally, there is now a growing Philippine community centred around the school, the church and the hospital in Abergavenny."

The Philippines has been the largest provider of nurses for the UK for the last five years.

In 2003 alone, 5,500 Filipino nurses were added to the nursing register, and there are currently more than 20,000 working in UK hospitals.

Originally, many were limited to two-year contracts, but as the contracts are renewed the families are choosing to settle, buying houses and bringing up families.

Mr Healy said: "The children and their families are a real asset to the school and the church in Abergavenny."