THE RAINBOW children of Worth Valley Primary School are pumped up about their new peace campaign.

They launched seven balloons into the sky, each with a colour of the rainbow, to celebrate World Peace Day.

Each balloon, which had an individual peace message, represented one of the main religions of the world.

The balloons also bore the school phone number so people who found them could write to say whether has landed.

Pupils from the Bracken Bank school also used the event to launch the Peace Mala initiative which aims to combat prejudice and religious intolerance.

School spokesman Lil Curr said Worth Valley Primary was the first school in the Bradford area to use Peace Mala.

She said the campaign was born when Pam Evans, head of religious studies at Coedcae School, Llanelli, Wales, was speaking with pupils about the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York in 2001.

She added: “During the discussion in the classroom, they realised something needed to be done to combat prejudice and religious intolerance.

“What was more shocking was the rise in fundamentalism, racism and prejudice, that we are faced with today.”

“Peace Mala and its messages will be used daily in class at Worth Valley Primary School. We will be celebrating different faiths and festivals within school and this will begin with having a Harvest With a Difference assembly.

“We are covering as many faiths as possible and showing the link between the different faiths at this time of year.”

Adults in the school are all wearing a Peace Mala bracelet and the year five children will soon make their own and act as Peace Mala ambassadors.

The Peace Mala bracelet promotes friendship, respect and peace between people of all cultures, lifestyles, faiths and beliefs.

The Peace Mala initiative will fit in with the school’s existing PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) programme,

Six of the balloons celebrated different religions, red for Christianity, orange for Buddhism and Hinduism, yellow for Sikhism, green for Islam, blue for Judaism and violet for Iskon.

The seventh balloon was white, representing the pupils and their own spiritual path.

Messages including treating others as you would like them to treat you, live in loving harmony with all of God’s creation, ‘none of you truly believe until you wish for your brother and sisters what you wish for yourself’, and what is harmful to you, do not do to other people.