FOR months, visitors to Durham Cathedral have been helping to rebuild the cathedral in Lego at £1 a brick (Real Life, 31 January), raising money for the cathedral's Open Treasure project to improve the way in which it displays its great wealth of historic artefacts.

For the past four months, a group of Japanese students from Teikyo University, Tokyo, have been improving their English by volunteering to help with the Lego: building, sorting, and selling bricks, and helping visitors put their brick in place.

"I have really enjoyed being part of the Lego project," Yu Hannahira, who spent five weeks helping, says. "I have met many different people, and my English skills have improved greatly. I can't wait to see the Lego model when it's finished."