West Bromwich school children show their support for families of terror attack victims

This is just one of the many heartfelt messages to the families of victims of the Manchester and London terrorist attacks written by pupils at a Black Country school.

The Year 6 pupils at Pennyhill Primary School in West Bromwich were so moved by the upsetting scenes they saw unfolding in the cities in the wake of the tragedies that they put pen to paper.

They wanted to share their thoughts and emotions with the nation as well as thank the emergency services for their assistance and express their sympathy to the families.

In their religious education lesson they also discussed why it was important that terror attacks did not divide society or lead to people being persecuted because of their religion.

Between them, the 30 pupils created a collection of letters, postcards, essays, poems and posters.

As well as sending their work to the Express & Star, they also send them to media organisations in London and Manchester in the hope of their messages reaching those affected by the attacks.

In their letter they said: "We would like to extend our sincere sympathy to all the families and friends of the recent victims from the Manchester and London attacks.

"In our recent Religious Education lesson we discussed what happens when the holy books have been misused and misinterpreted and people are harmed.

"In these lessons we are taught to not judge the colour of one's skin but the content of their mind which influences their actions.

"As a result of our lesson we decided as a class to share with the nation our thoughts and emotions. We would like to collectively thank the different emergency services for their immediate assistance and to all the families our sympathy."

Assistant headteacher Nyoka Lawrence-Beckles said: "The pupils could chose their own form of presentation and the audience they were going to write to.

"It was amazing how they chose to express themselves. They didn't know anyone in Manchester and London but they were upset by what they saw. They understood that they shouldn't judge someone by their religion and holy books can be misinterpreted."

Among the pupils taking part in the 6A class project was Oliver Daniels, aged 11, who chose to write a letter to the survivors in which he expressed his sadness about what happened and said: "These attacks should not divide us but make us stronger."

Oliver, who also wrote a prayer, said: "We were writing to victims' families in London and Manchester. I thought a prayer was fitting in the circumstances."

Anjali Verma wrote a poem which included the verse: "Please, please, please stop this nonsense and please get some sense! You terrorists don't understand, you're ruining the land!"

Another pupil, Divya Patel, wrote on a postcard: "Stay strong and don't worry but continue to be happy even if your life has turned grey. If I could, I would do anything to help you."

While Julia Wozniczke wrote in a letter to relatives of victims: "I am so sorry that your family, you or anybody that you love were injured in these events because it truly is horrible.

"I want to share with everybody that no matter what we look like or what our belief is, we all need to help each other especially in times like this And if it works...instead of hatred, there will be love."