Not many guides to London would include Barnet's town hall on their contents page.

But for around 30 teenagers Hendon was as much a landmark as Buckingham Palace or the Tower of London.

Three groups of exchange students from Israel and Germany arrived at the Town Hall in The Burroughs on Monday morning for a reception with the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Usha Chopra.

Marking the 50th anniversary of both Israel's independence and of the Berlin airlift, this was the first time the event combined groups from Ramat Gan in Israel and Siegerland and Tempelhof, both in Germany. All three towns are twinned with Barnet borough.

Mrs Chopra welcomed the children and their English hosts and then the students listened to a talk about the borough, its history and local government.

Some of the students, who have been kept pretty busy since arriving in Britain last week, took the opportunity to catch up on some much needed shut-eye.

However, the hall erupted with laughter when two volunteers from each group dressed up in the traditional ceremonial robes.

Alex Rabanus, 17, from Siederland had little to say about the morning -- "it's different" -- but enthused about the rest of the trip.

"We had great fun canoeing, climbing and swimming in the Lake District. I'm looking forward to going shopping in London."

According to Liora Shlomi, 16, from Ramat Gan, the highlight of the trip so far has been a visit to the Capital Cafe.

She said: "It was great -- we all got to speak on the radios on our tables. We're really getting to know the English kids and they're coming to Israel at the end of August."

And if the teenagers' bags are not already filled with souvenirs, they now have something to remember Barnet by -- a badge which reads "I've met the mayor".

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