IT was a handshake that spanned many thousands of miles . . .

When Blackburn College principal Sheena Ewing greeted Kenneth Tan in her Feilden Street office she was also putting the seal on a unique international deal.

For the college has just started delivering its courses to Chinese students - in China.

The college has signed a contract with Mr Tan's Far East-based Coleman Creative Design School which means youngsters in the Chinese capital of Beijing will be able to achieve Blackburn College qualifications.

Josephine Lomax, director of planning and performance management at the college, said: "We got together with Coleman's in 1997 to provide courses in Singapore.

"It's been so successful we decided to try to expand the idea and go into China."

The courses have just gone on stream and cover graphic design, advertising, multimedia design and advanced events management - and are exactly the same as those being taken by Blackburn's home-based students.

Thirty Chinese students have just begun their East Lancashire-inspired learning, but the hope is this will eventually grow to 300.

The courses are taught by Chinese lecturers under the auspices of Coleman's, but staff from Blackburn College will take a plane to Beijing a couple of times every year in order to ensure that the required standards are continuing to be met.

"We will go there to moderate and verify what is being taught. This carries a lot of kudos for Blackburn and we have to be sure it's right," Josephine said.

It is planned to add English to the syllabus soon, and, meanwhile, Susan Kearvell, the college's international officer, is already looking at moving into other centres in the Far East - possibly Thailand and the Philippines - and bring further cultural benefits to the college.

But selling Blackburn College thousands of miles from home can prove to be rather an arduous task.

When Josephine flew out to Singapore recently to visit the Coleman's centre with Kath Brennand, the college's creative arts curriculum centre manager, she packed for the prevailing humid climate. But a problem emerged when they were re-directed at short notice to Beijing, where the temperature was minus three.

She recalled: "I was so cold the first thing I did was go to the nearest market and join the locals bartering for a thick coat!"