The concept of a European Citizenship is something that is relatively new and discussion relating to its meaning and definition are gaining popularity as a basis for research. Within education, the growth of programmes for teaching citizenship has seen a sharp increase and this pattern is prevalent across Europe (Education Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency 2012). It was the aim of Creative Connections to challenge young ideas about citizenship identities and, in doing so, experience a collective learning experience which attempted to transform preconceived ideas and stereotypes by facilitating online connections between schools in different European countries. Central to the research was the goal of a fresh exploration of European citizen identities seen through a range of educational and cultural lenses and focused on citizen identities which are complementary rather than competing. This paper presents schools in England where classroom discussions with older children (13 years) were influenced by news media representations of England’s relationship to Europe. Pupils‘ beliefs were sometimes hostile, stereotypical and infuenced by consumerism, however teachers also found that as pupils engaged with deep questioning they revealed personal European connections which changed many of the perceptions both the teachers and pupils held of one another.