A GROUP of Wiltshire teachers is heading to the home of one of the world's most spectacular waterfalls to learn about creativity.

The party will fly out to Zambia on March 27 to build links with local schools and to look at the way children are taught.

The landlocked country has a population of 10.8 million and is internationally renowned for the stunning Victoria Falls, sitting on its border with Zimbabwe.

Wiltshire county council general primary adviser Rob Ratcliff will lead the party of nine teachers during the nine-day visit.

During their stay in the capital, Lusaka, the teachers will visit schools and training colleges, meeting both staff and pupils.

The Zambian education minister is due to join them for one day

Learning about African culture also plays an important part of the trip and the teachers will visit several museums and a creative arts centre.

A trip to the world-famous waterfalls - known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya, or The Smoke That Thunders - has also been organised.

The falls form the widest curtain of falling water in the world when the Zambezi is in full flood (usually February or March).

The trip is being funded through the department for education and skills teachers' international professional development programme and organised by the British Council.

Mr Ratcliff said: "We shall be looking to learn new ways to develop the learning power of children in Wiltshire from our counterparts in Zambia.

"Teaching in Zambia will be under conditions very different from those in Wiltshire - they will have developed different ways of fostering learning in classrooms.

"The trip will also provide us with the opportunity to set up and then later develop links of friendship between schools in Wiltshire and Zambia."

Among teachers going on the trip is Ray Picton, deputy headteacher at Greentrees Primary School, in Salisbury.

He said: "Zambia is such an exciting destination.

"I have travelled around quite a number of places but I have not been to Africa before.

"It is such a great opportunity to go to a country that is so different from our own and to see a totally different education system.

"It will be really interesting to see how creativity is fostered in Zambian schools and I am sure there will be plenty we can learn from.

"I want to bring back as many examples as possible of Zambian culture to share with children in my school and make links with schools in that country."