THOSE who say people of different cultural backgrounds cannot prosper together could learn a lesson or two from one Bolton school.

Brandwood Primary School boasts pupils whose families originate from 19 different countries.

They come from across the globe, and include some from refugee and asylum-seeking families.

The school has now been praised by government education watchdog Ofsted as being an excellent example of how different cultures can exist as one community.

And for anyone who doubts whether a school with children from so many backgrounds can actually operate successfully as a place of learning, Brandwood has found itself in Ofsted's top 100 UK schools as a result of the progress its pupils have made between key stages one and two.

Also, even though English is a second language to many of the children, with 21 per cent also new to this country, the results of pupils in their final year are largely in line or better than the national average.

Rather than prove a problem, the very different origins of the pupils appears to actually enhance their learning, with children finding out about different languages, customs and cultures they may otherwise not have known about.

They learn about a world that will still be unfamiliar to most children of their age.

The children and staff at Brandwood are living proof that if you can bring people together at a young age, they will overcome their differences and discover how to live alongside one another.

Many supposedly educated adults could learn a lot from these children.