When the door opens, a group of ten children burst in, chatting and taking in their surroundings. They are the singers for the day, and, aged between 9 and 11, have never set foot inside a recording studio before.

Brought to Hertfordshire by the Chernobyl Children Lifeline charity, the children, all hailing from the ex soviet Union nation, Belarus, are currently staying in pairs with five host families in the Watford area.

Now in their penultimate week, the children have been experiencing a variety of activities from seaside visits to skating, on a month's break away from their native country.

The trip was organised as a respite for the youngsters who live in a region where only one per cent of land remains uncontaminated after the world's worst nuclear accident occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in 1986. Due to the fact that more than 70 per cent of radioactive substances from the disaster fell over Belarus, children from the area are at a much higher risk of contracting cancer or leukaemia.

The day's organiser, Mr Shearer, a composer of therapeutic music CDs, leads me on a tour of the studio's mixing desks, sound compressors and computers based at their location for the day, The Centre, South Oxhey. Planning to mix a CD with the assistance of a sound technician and produce copies for everyone to take back to Belarus, he says: "Quite a few of the children have musical talents – so I'm looking forward to producing something really exciting today."

Accompanied by their translator, Mrs Valentina Charopka, the children, who play a range of instruments at home from the violin and piano to the accordion, familiarise themselves with the room, plucking on a guitar standing in the corner and swivelling on the chairs.

Mrs Charopka says: "I've been getting them to sing when we've been out and about on mini busses - it's a good way to stop them from squabbling and also gave us a chance to practice for today."

The first song that they chose to sing is a favourite of 11-year-old Oleg Radziminovich and, according to Mrs Charopka, is a Belarusian folk classic about a wounded bird that needs protection from the world. Standing in a makeshift circle, their acapella version is soft and their voices a little uncertain. But when they move on to 'Capatina' - a cheery ballad about a happy sailor captain, their gusto shines through.

When asked if they know of any American or European bands they make their broad music tastes known.

"I love The Beatles, they're cool" says 11-year old Andrei Navakouski. Zhenia Ignasenka, 10, agrees, saying: "I had my photo taken with The Beatles at Madame Tussauds, it was great." "My favourites are Britney Spears and Pink" interrupts Alina Navakouski, also 11.

The flash of the camera doesn't seem to faze them at all, as the children attempt an English song penned by Mr Shearer entitled Hello Hemel, sung to the tune of the musical classic Hello Dolly. And as I leave the studio, that's anything but quiet now, the words from the tune "We're sad to leave you" ring more true than ever.