This week at the Arab Institute, the students wrote letters to children in England about their lives in Palestine. At the end of their letters they were told to ask a question to people in England. This group of students is very engaged and have so much to say, and as we've been working on their spoken English mainly during the classes, it was now a chance for them to demonstrate their writing skills.

15 year-old Yazan wrote in-depth about the problems that the Israeli occupation causes - from everything to travel restrictions to the everyday killing of Palestinians. His question was: "What do you think of Israel?" which is a question that is rarely asked. It would be very interesting to see how children in England would answer this.

Saleh poured his heart out in his letter and wrote: "I love my country and I may die for it." It would be interesting to see how pupils in London would perceive this and if they understand why Saleh is so passionate about his country.

Saleh

However, the letters weren't all full of doom and gloom. Yousef wrote about his love of England and British people. He wishes to study at university there and I hope his dreams come true.

Yousef

My favourite line was from Zain, 15, who wants people in England to change their visions of Palestinians. He wrote: "We want you to know that what happens in Palestine isn't a fight between two equal parties. It's a fight between an occupier and the oppressed." Such insightful, intelligent words from a young man. Reading these letters was quite inspirational. 

Over the past few weeks, 12 students from the ninth grade of the Arab Institute have been engaged in forms of cultural exchange between Britain and Palestine.

We have been giving talks about life in Britain and asking them what they already know about our culture. The students have also been giving their own presentations about life in Palestine and we have all been learning about different cultures together.

Topics that have been discussed include: British and Palestinian traditions, landmarks, sport, food, religion and entertainment.

Below is fourteen-year-old Mohammad, who gave an insightful presentation about Palestinian marriages and the elements involved in the celebration. He talked about the importance of marriage customs, food and dancing (particularly Palestinian dabke).