SHEBBEAR College Sixth Form student Ellie Bird was commissioned by the school’s marketing manager, Mark Charman, to produce two paintings depicting scenes of the old town area of Lublin, a vibrant university city in southeast Poland.

The paintings were commissioned as a gift for his wife Dorota Charman, who led the school’s successful trip to Krakow earlier this year. Dorota grew up near Lublin, where her family still lives, and she also attended universities there.

The beautiful paintings were presented to Dorota on the school’s Speech Day.

Ellie was one of the 30 students who went on the cultural enrichment trip to Krakow in February this year. The students visited important historic sites such as Auschwitz, Oskar Schindler’s factory, the Jewish quarter and former ghetto areas.

They enjoyed traditional Polish food, music and dancing as well as trips to the world famous salt mines, Wawel Royal Palace and other sightseeing tours. Like Krakow, the city of Lublin once had a thriving Jewish community, but most were murdered by the Nazis in World War Two at the nearby Majdanek concentration camp. Nicknamed ‘the Oxford of the East’, Lublin boasts nine universities and has a young, vibrant feel and a thriving cultural and academic scene.