Skip to content

Pupils cross the divide by walking Derry's Walls

Keiron Tourish
BBC News NI north west reporter
BBC Mikayla ha wearing a light blue and white checked top with a white polo collar. She has long light brown hair and is wearing pink framed glasses.BBC
Mikayla from Long Tower primary school said working together celebrated their similarities

Pupils from two primary schools in Londonderry have joined forces to take part in a unity walk along the city's historic walls.

The children from the Fountain estate and Long Tower on the edge of the Bogside said they wanted to show that working together was the best way forward for everyone.

The walk was organised after recent sectarian violence flared in the city.

Long Tower Primary School principal Joyce Logue said there had been several incidents over the Easter holidays in and around the interface at the Fountain.

She said the schools had been left disappointed by the outbreak of violence.

"It's not what we want for our children and it's not who we are. We thought a unity walk would show that we work together and underline the good things in this area rather than highlight what is not so good," she said.

About 50 pupils from Long Tower and Fountain primary schools stepped on to the ramparts to complete a circuit of the city's historic walls.

They were joined by representatives of different churches in the city in a show of solidarity.

Harry is wearing a bright red polo top and has short brown hair. He is looking at the camera. He is standing on grass with a tree in the background, further in the distance the school building can be seen.
Harry from Fountain Primary School was one of the pupils who took part

The walk was focused on the unity that exists between both schools.

The principal of Fountain Primary School, Stephen Torney, said it was a powerful symbol for the wider city and beyond.

"Bringing our communities together is so vital," he said.

"We want to focus on the positives and all the work that the school and the communities can do together."

There have been a spate of disturbances in Derry, some of which the police are treating as sectarian hate crimes.

Youths attacked each other and the police and there were a number of assaults.

Niall is smiling at the camera. He is wearing a light green shirt and tie. He has short brown hair.
Niall from Long Tower Primary School said he had fun on the walk

Mr Torney said friendships formed between pupils at a young age could prove enriching in the long term.

"The children often come back to me and tell me how they have later met children that they worked with through shared education and they've built friendships with them so that's really important for me," he said.

The children from both schools welcomed the opportunity to take part in the unity walk.

"It's good to get together and have fun and have a laugh," Long Tower pupil Niall said.

"More people will want to become friends with different schools and people from different faiths."

Raghd from Fountain Primary said it was a good idea to meet new people and make friends.

Harry, who also attends Fountain Primary added: "I think that shared education is really good because we get to work with other people instead of just our friends."