School children have been learning at first hand about Fairtrade.

Youngsters in the Keighley district and South Craven have taken part in a number of activities.

South Craven School at Cross Hills hosted visiting primary school youngsters, who met Aimeth Fernandez, manager of a Colombian growers co-operative.

She spoke about the unfair practices used by big businesses to depress the prices paid to struggling banana farmers.

Aimeth explained how the buying of ethically sourced bananas helps not only the actual farmers but their wider communities, as the additional income can be invested in schools, health clinics, water treatment plants and the general environment.

A school spokesman said: “Year nine pupils staged a presentation to emphasise the benefits of eating bananas and supporting Fairtrade farmers.

“The afternoon was organised by teacher Chantelle Conlan and Liz Roodhouse, of Craven Development Centre.

“The pupils were engaged by being able to take part in games, quizzes and competitions, all with bananas as the theme.”

Meanwhile, Haworth Primary School pupils have enjoyed an all-expenses-paid trip to the world’s first international Fair Trade Visitor Centre.

They received a traditional Ghanaian-style welcome when they arrived at the centre in Garstang, which is called The Fig Tree.

The children were helped to make their own bars of Fairtrade chocolate, using cocoa from the town of New Koforidua, in Ghana.

Pupils selected cocoa beans, roasted them and followed all the other processes to make them into chocolate bars. They even designed their own wrappers.

Tracy Roe, food leader at Haworth Primary, said: “This was an amazing experience for the children. They really came to terms with what Fairtrade means, not just money to the farmers, but having basic needs met, such as medical provision, education and water.”

Headteacher, Helen Thompson, said: “Fairtrade and sustainability are at the heart of our personalised curriculum and being awarded this incredible visit was a fantastic achievement.”

The pupils were able to go on the trip after their school won a contest in which it had to submit a written statement explaining why it wanted to visit the venue.