Paddington Bear enjoys travelling abroad, thanks to South Tyneside nursery school pupil

Children at Valley View Primary School and Nursery Unit in Jarrow have been learning about the popular children’s character and his adventures.

And nursery pupil Sadie has taken the famous bear on a fresh adventure to France with her mum Lesley Johnston, a UK sales manager for an LA based sustainable fashion brand.

The gang have arrived in Paris and say Paddington enjoyed his car ride to the hotel, seeing all the sights – particularly the Arc de Triomphe.

They say the marmalade-loving bear was devastated to find no English channels on TV, so used the time to practice his French.

So far Paddington has visited the Eiffel Tower, indulged in some French cuisine, done a spot of gift shopping – and even visited the flight deck of the plane on the way over, posing for a picture with the pilots.

Emily Howey, Early Years teacher at Valley View, said it links in with the UNICEF ‘Paddington’s Postcards for Children’ scheme which helps raise funds for the children’s charity.

"Paddington Bear has become a very popular bear in our Early Years,” she said.

"Our children are so excited when a postcard arrives from Paddington Bear (and UNICEF) to discover his new adventures from around the world.

"Through looking at the experiences of Paddington Bear, our children have fostered a love, and understanding, of our diverse world and how this compares to where they are from.

"We are very lucky to have such wonderful relationships with our parents, and this has been a fantastic opportunity to really bring Paddington Bear to life for our children.

Paddington, of course, already has strong connections with South Tyneside.

Renowned South Shields artist Sheila Graber ccreated the animation for Paddington Bear and Mr and Mrs Brown for the TV series Paddington.

And Paddington was the star of the 2021 Christmas for South Tyneside-based international clothing brand Barbour, in which he championed sustainability.

The short festive film follows the mishaps and adventures of Paddington Bear as he comes up with an idea for a thoughtful gift – re-waxing his owner’s favourite jacket.