PUPILS at Beath High welcomed a very prestigious visitor to their school this week, as a US ambassador decided to take the tour, after meeting one of the students.

Matthew W Barzun, United States ambassador to the United Kingdom, visited Beath High School on Monday after being impressed by student Chantelle Leswell on a recent residential weekend in London. Chantelle had visited the States back in August on a college tour, where she got to experience the campuses of many of America’s top universities including Yale, Smith and Harvard. She met Ambassador Barzun in London during a talk in which the UK’s perspective of the US was discussed, and the US official was so impressed that he came to Cowdenbeath to see Chantelle’s school for himself.

“It was an honour to have him here, we were so excited to receive him,” said Chantelle. “It was a total buzz for everyone. I like to think he was quite impressed with the school. He is very down-to-earth and seemed to like the building.

“He asked about my trip to the United States and said he was glad to meet me again. It was a great morning.” Ambassador Barzun spent time in the hall with the pupils, talking to them and answering questions. School rector Douglas Young believes the morning was a great success, “Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it - they enjoyed the questions and the interaction.

“The discussion was centred around the youngsters’ impressions of the United States and its external foreign affairs, with issues such as American involvement in conflicts and diplomacy. It was a brilliant experience for them.”