A group of north-east residents have banded together to form a language group aimed at bringing together immigrant communities.
The Banffshire International Group (Big) was launched by a committee of friends who completed a English language for beginners course in the area.
When they discovered that the only way they could continue their studies was to apply for college classes, they took matters into their own hands.
The newly formed group is open to foreign nationals and native English speakers of all abilities as a way of learning together and promoting social integration.
Community worker Penny Lindsay, who has helped organise the group, said the initiative was a bold idea which has already won local support.
“The first meeting was held on Friday night and we had more than 30 people along,” she said. “It’s great to see – English can be such a hard language to learn with all the rules and exceptions. These are people who want to be more involved in the community.”
Chairwoman Liana Bereznaka said: “We hope anyone who wants to be able to be able to speak English better or who can speak English and wants to help those whose first language is not English will come along.
“We do not want it to be a group for people to speak just in their own language and not try to speak in English.”
Big will host its first annual meeting on Thursday, September 24 from 7pm in Banff’s Bridge Street Community Centre. All are welcome.