THE Battle of the Somme will be commemorated by pupils from two local schools as part of an ambitious multicultural project.

“Children of the Somme” involves pupils from Farnham Primary School in Great Horton and Cullingworth Village Primary School learning about their own history and any involvement their family members might have had with the Battle of the Somme, which happened 100 years ago.

As well as looking at the impact of the battle on troops from the Bradford area, the project, run by the BBC, also looks at the heavy losses experienced by Indian troops.

Thirty pupils from each school are working with the Bradford Music Service, BBC Radio Leeds, Lucie Lee Dance Academy, Nima Poovaya-Smith, director of Alchemy Arts, and local children’s author Hilary Robinson.

Their project culminates with an event at Bradford Playhouse where the children will showcase what they have learned from a number of weekly workshops they are taking part in.

The event, on Thursday November 17, will also include performances from local artists and musicians. A play that has been written by scriptwriter, radio presenter and arts journalist, Nick Ahad, called , Coming Home Together, will premier there too.

During the workshops the pupils have also learned to play new instruments and dance routines with a South Asian influence.

Sanjiv Buttoo, Editor of BBC Radio Leeds, said: “Within the first hour of the first day of the battle of the Somme, thousands of soldiers from Bradford and Leeds were killed.

“The devastating losses were not just the young men from West Yorkshire; 130,000 troops of the Indian Forces served in Flanders during WW1, and two Indian Cavalry troops were among those taking part in that first battle of the Somme.

“They have relatives living here who may be unaware of those sacrifices which unite us all.

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“Whatever their background, most children in West Yorkshire have a connection to the Battle of the Somme, whether it’s a direct family descendent, the road they live in or the school they attend. 100 years on, we want to reflect this diversity with the children of today and show how WW1 affected people like them.”

Harriet Taylor, a teacher at Cullingworth Village Primary School: “The children are going to get used to different cultures, it’s such an important thing for them to get used to diversity.

“They’re very excited.”

Sophie Findlay, teacher at Farnham Primary School said: “I love to see the children experiencing different things. It will help them with their learning, it all adds to the experiences they have.”

BBC Radio Leeds will be covering the project.