Communities are our defence against hatred. Now, more than ever, we must invest in hope
On a bright wintry morning, Bradford's majestic 19th-century city hall is alive with children's laughter, chatter and songs. Sixty girls and boys are playing games and dancing in the banqueting suite, they're making art in the civic reception room and amid the grandeur of the council chamber, where key decisions about the future of their city are made, they are sharing their hopes and dreams.
"I want to be a doctor," says one pupil from the tiered benches where the city's councillors sit. "I want to be a doctor and a teacher," says another. "I want to be a pilot and a neurosurgeon," says a third. The children are also asked about their hopes for Bradford. "That we have our own snow leopard," was one rather magnificent recent response.
The year 4 children, aged eight or nine, are drawn from two Bradford primary schools that have been paired. They are taking part in a year-long programme of events organised by The Linking Network, a charity that brings together children from different faiths, cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds to have fun, learn together and get to know one another.
Set up after the Bradford civil disturbances of 2001, the charity - one of five charities supported through the Guardian's charity appeal, which has the theme of hope - aims to build relationships between children who might otherwise never have met. Their shared experience during the programme helps them explore identity, become comfortable with difference and build connections. When you see it in action, it just looks like children having fun.
One class is from Horton Grange, a large primary school in the west of Bradford where 87% of pupils speak English as an additional language, almost one-third (32%) are eligible for free school meals and 0.4% are white British. The other class is from Hill Top, a small Church of England primary in the south of the city where 81% of children are white British, fewer than a fifth (19%) are eligible for free school meals and 3% speak English as an additional language.
Geographically their schools are not that far apart, but without The Linking Network these children were unlikely to have had an opportunity to get to know each other. This is the first time they have met face to face and Hill Top's headteacher, Julie Ball, is visibly moved by the encounter.
"When you look at them now, they're all joining in. They've just met as complete strangers," she exclaims. "This will really benefit our children. They will get to know about other schools and other cultures." Later in the day, I catch her dabbing tears from her eyes. "People in our country need to see this. [Children] don't see the differences."
A lot of careful groundwork has been done ahead of this meeting. At the start of the year, the children undertake work in their own classroom then meet online. In the video call between the two classes, one child's question broke the ice. "I want to know, does anyone like chicken nuggets?"
Their first face-to-face meeting ideally takes place in a neutral space - a theatre, museum or city hall - offering pupils a shared cultural learning experience. Then later in the year they visit each other's classrooms.
Nahida Nazir, the charity's primary advisory teacher, who is among those leading today's session, grew up in Bradford. "I feel like I wasn't offered these opportunities," she says. "It was only when I went to university I was given the opportunity to mix with people from different backgrounds. Every primary school across the country needs to be doing this."
The charity also works with secondaries, special schools, faith and independent schools. Its work has expanded over the decades beyond Bradford to 26 local authorities in England, from Rochdale and Bury, Calderdale and Kirklees, to Bristol, Buckinghamshire and Kent. With additional funding, co-directors Linda Cowie and Meg Henry hope to expand further.
"It gives children the chance to see beyond the boundaries of their own experience. When they meet, share stories and learn together, they build empathy and understanding that lasts a lifetime," they say.
The bishop of Bradford, Toby Howarth, is the chair of trustees. "For me it's a gem," he says. "I chair a number of trusts and this is my favourite. I leave every trustees' meeting feeling more hopeful, more joyous and profoundly moved. It's an emotional thing.
"This is about children meeting one another. These kids are growing up with a friend from another background. When they hear false narratives, they can say: 'But I know this person.' This is not fluffy. It's dealing with real issues."
By the end of the day, nerves have vanished and friendships have blossomed. "I'm sad because I don't want to leave him," says one little boy pointing at his new friend, as the time to leave draws near. Another pair of boys - one from Horton Grange, one from Hill Top - break dance together, two girls - one with a hijab, one without - can't stop smiling at each other, and two more are amazed to discover they both want to be paleontologists.
Kathryn Swales is headteacher of Girlington primary school, one of the two schools that began the school-linking project in 2001. "Every July, like many primaries, we have a leavers' assembly where children recount their most memorable experiences at primary school," she says.
"Every year, without fail, children choose to talk about their experience of linking - of meeting children from our link school, the friendships they have made, the things they did together, the things they found out about each other. There is no greater testament to the programme than this."