Leek has been twinned with the town of Este, near Padua, Italy for over 5 years. The formal twinning process was completed in 2002. Este, situated at the foot of the Euganei Hills and having very ancient origins, is a similar sized town to Leek, with a population of 18,000. It has a castle and castle walls, beautiful gardens, museum and a clock tower like our own war memorial. Other cities near to Este are Verona, Padua and Venice. Travel to Este is quite simple. There are 2 airports near Venice, Treviso and Marco Polo, which are only about 1 hour away by train from Este.

The Clock Tower in Este

The Leek Twinning Committee

The twinning committee meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 7.30 pm in the Leek Town Clerk's Office, 15 Stockwell St., Leek, ST13 6DH. There are no meetings in August or December.

The committee is made up of the following personnel:

We are always looking for new members to join us so please come along to our meeting or contact a member of the committee using the telephone numbers or e-mail addresses below:

Chairman Helen Ratcliffe on 01538 360837 or e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Vice Chairman Paul Baxter on 01538 382913 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Secretary Anthony Mathewson on 01538 387032 or e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Twinning Events/Exchanges

Since twinning started there has been a steady increase in the number of exchanges that have taken place over the last 5 years. The Amazing Gospel Choir was the first performing group to come to Leek and the Down Choir soon followed them.

We now have a number of exchanges between the two towns that are permanently fixed in the calendar year. Este has their Flower Festival in April, the Atestiadi sports weekend at the beginning of May, a Trade Fair at the end of May, Eurofeste at the beginning of October, Veterans Weekend at the beginning of November and Christmas Market in December.

Leek has Art in the Park in May, Remembrance Weekend in November and Christmas Lights switch on in December. Any celebration that now takes place in Leek automatically includes an invitation to our twin town of Este to participate. This was the case in June 2007 when we had our Medieval 800 weekend celebrations and nearly 80 citizens came to either participate or watch. This included three Este medieval groups, Este Medievale, La Corte d?Este and Emporium Athestinium.

Student exchanges have taken place between two of our local schools, Leek High School and Westwood College. An e-mail/internet exchange has recently been created between Churnet View Middle School, Leek and The Carducci School in Este with children of a similar age.

Local musicians including Piva Musica and the Phoenix Singers have been to Este to perform. Links are ongoing between local Rotary and British Legion groups, Scouts and Guides.

Owing to the success of twinning, learning to speak Italian classes are being offered at Leek College.

Whenever exchanges are made, whether to Leek or to Este visitors are always hosted and this has led to friendships being created and visits made privately and not just when there is an important function to attend.

If you are interested in hosting our friends from Este please contact one of our committee members.