China 'releases quarantined British pupils'

A group of British students quarantined in China following a swine flu outbreak were released today, according to a report.

The 21 pupils and two teachers were being kept under observation at a hotel in Beijing but have been allowed to leave.

A total of 111 students and teachers were originally quarantined at the hotel after a number of other students were diagnosed with swine flu and treated in hospital.

A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed a group of students and teachers was being released today, but was unable to provide more details.

Eight other teenagers - seven from London and one from Somerset - and another Briton have been receiving treatment for the H1N1 virus in a Beijing hospital. There are no reports that any of the patients are seriously ill.

The released pupils and teachers have been transferred to another hotel and will be able to continue their trip.

George Edge, 14, from the Central Foundation Boys' School in Islington, London, told the broadcaster: "I am just really glad to be out.

"Hopefully, we can finish our trip on a high and do all the things we planned."

Ian Tyrell, a teacher, added: "We feel relieved and are looking forward to enjoying the rest of our time in China."

They are among a party of around 600 British students and teachers from across the UK who had travelled to China.

Organised by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT), the British Council and Hanban, a Chinese organisation linked to Confucius Institutes, and part-funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, the two-week trip was intended to enable the teenagers to learn more about the country's culture and language.