A Lowestoft academy is forging links with Europe as part of a cultural and environmental project.

East Point Academy has joined forces with colleges in France and Germany and a high school in Portugal to take part in the Comenius programme which will see students exploring the carbon footprints of different energy sources and considering how our energy needs might change in the future.

The project is named after the Czech teacher and writer Jan Amos Comenius – the father of modern education – and will run for two years, with support from the European Commission.

After securing funding, East Point Academy has linked up with College le Verger, in Auray, France; the Pascal Gymnasium, in Grevenbroich, Germany, and a secondary school in Gafanha da Nazaré, in Portugal. The project will include exchange trips for at least 40 year eight and year nine students.

In February, 14 students and three teachers visited France, and in June some of these students and others will go to Germany. Another group will head to Portugal in February next year and, in June 2015 it will be East Point's turn to host visitors from the other three schools.

Kate Darcey, project co-ordinator at East Point, said: 'This final energy symposium could provide us with a unique opportunity to highlight how excellent our students are at hosting an international event and taking responsibility for their future energy needs.'

The project has also seen year seven students writing postcards to youngsters at the other three schools, and they will be producing booklets in the language of the four countries outlining what interests they share.

Year eight students are researching Lowestoft as part of their geography course and plan to share this information, with details on the other towns, to develop a European identity. Year nine students are working on a joint international research project looking at energy for the future. The students who went to Brittany visited a tidal power plant and rode on an electric boat.