OXFORD is on the lookout out for a new twin city – this time from Poland.

The city is already home to a large and vibrant Polish community to the extent that after English, Polish is the most widely spoken language here.

Now Oxford City Council wants people in both England and Poland to nominate a city which could formally be twinned.

Oxford is already twinned with five cities – Leiden in the Netherlands, Bonn in Germany, Leon in Nicaragua, Grenoble in Switzerland and Perm in Russia.

Twinning promotes cultural activities and fostering commercial ties between the cities or countries.

School exchanges, art projects, sports tournaments and social get-togethers are also common.

The chairwoman of the Oxford Polish Association, Ewa Gluza, said: “In the Friends of Oxford Polish Association we have about 50 members, but when we are doing events we sometimes have between 60 and 1,200 people.”

Amongst its most successful events, its Father's Day picnic, which takes place in June, is always a favourite.

Mrs Gluza has lived in Oxford for 13 years and works as an administrator at Hertford College.

She originates from the city of Bielsko-Biala, which has a past similar to Oxford in some respects.

She said: "It is not a big city. They built the Fiat car there; here it’s the Mini."

Just as BMW confirmed its new electric Mini would be built in Oxford earlier this year, last November in Bielsko-Biala, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) said the city’s workers would build the firm's new three cylinder one litre engine and the four-cylinder 1.3 litre engine.

Mrs Gluza said that Oxford should steer clear of twinning with Krakow.

She said: “It is too obvious because Krakow is the first university city in Poland.

The city is also twinned with Edinburgh – which would pose problems for Oxford if the council decided it was its preference.

Oxford City Council’s executive board member for culture and community, Dee Sinclair, said: “Twinning is a wonderful way of providing residents of both cities with the opportunity to share a host of new cultural experiences.

"We very much look forward to finding our new twin in Poland and to developing links and sharing ways to celebrate both our cities.”

Two of the links with Oxford’s twin cities date back to the 1940s.

Leiden was twinned in 1946 and Bonn followed in 1947.

León, Nicaragua's former capital and second largest city, has been twinned with Oxford since 1986. It is home to an ancient cathedral and the oldest university in Central America.

Cultural links between Grenoble and Oxford were first fostered in 1989, while Perm in Russia was first linked in 1990 and formally twinned in 1995.

The deadline for nominations for the new Polish twin city is November 15.

The council hopes to shortlist between three and five candidates by the end of that month and make a final decision in January.

To recommend a Polish town or city visit the council's webpage here