Harare — Art lovers were treated to an exhilarating performance at Girls' High as students from three Harare schools took turns to display their artistic talents during a cultural night held on Wednesday.

The event, which was organised by the British Council as part of their Connecting Classrooms programme. featured Girls' High, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Edward schools that constitute the Zimbabwean cluster, which is connected to two others from the United Kingdom and Nigeria.

The schools from the United Kingdom are Crown Hills Community College, Leicester Community College and Saint Paul's Catholic.

Various activities, among them a drama by the Zimbabwean cluster, vocal choir performances from Prince Edward and Queen Elizabeth students kept the crowd of more than 300 people enthralled.

A musical group from Prince Edward delighted the crowd their marimba and mbira vibes. Not to be outdone were the Daughters of Echo, a choral group comprising some former Girls' High students who put up a very impressive vocal performance.

The group included Chido Nyamande, who has recorded an album alongside the Prince Edward band titled My Baby set to be marketed by Saint Paul's Catholic School in the UK.

However, revellers could not resist the animating performance from the Prince Edward jazz band as they thronged the dance floor and danced to the Pata Pata song.

Some of the teachers from the UK cluster joined the band on stage and sang some of the lyrics, drawing loud cheers from the crowd.

According to the deputy director of the British Council, Ignatius Mabasa, the Connecting Classroom programme links six schools from three countries in a tripartite arrangement called NIZUK, an abbreviation for Nigeria, Zimbabwe and United Kingdom. The Connecting Classroom programme establishes and develops long-term sustainable partnerships across 18 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Britain.

Teachers from the United Kingdom were in the country and attended some of the classes at Girls' High where they shared knowledge and teaching methodologies with their Zimbabwean counterparts.

Mabasa said the British Council planned to expand the programme to embrace more schools, particularly those in the remote areas.