School children from Devon and London are taking part in an exciting project to help them grow a better understanding of different cultures and communities.

The project compares life in Devon with that of the capital, and looks at the similarities and differences between the locations in 1939 and 2004.

Children aged 11 to 18 from South Dartmoor Community College in Ashburton and Deptford Green School in south east London are involved in the unique collaboration.

The backbone of the project is the children's participation in a community musical called The Vackees - written by Carl Davis and Hiawyn Oram - which is set at the outbreak of the Second World War.

It is the story of child evacuees from London, sent to a Devon village, and follows their scrapes and adventures with the native children, who are initially hostile to them.

The Deptford pupils are playing the evacuees and the South Dartmoor students are taking the part of their country hosts.

Evacuated children faced a totally different way of life

The two groups of children are coming together in Ashburton on 3rd July for a two-week rehearsal period, culminating in performances on 13th-14th July.

The whole group will then travel to London for a final performance on 16th July.

It is hoped the experiences the children undergo will unlock their creativity, help give them a greater understanding of history, and encourage acceptance and inclusivity.

The whole project is being organised by One Small Step - a group which offers theatre and education for youngsters to help them take a new step in their lives.

As part of the project, One Small Step is organising a number of complementary activities, including debates, workshops, museum trips, local exploration, role play and drama games.

There will also be reminiscence sessions between the youngsters and people who were actually evacuated during the war, together with those who hosted evacuees.

The project also involves the children spending time in each other's communities.

Local children were sometimes initially hostile to evacuees

South Dartmoor School is situated in a largely rural area where there are very small numbers from ethnic backgrounds.

But Deptford is one of London's poorer boroughs, with high long-term unemployment, violent and sexual crime levels twice the national average and very high robbery rates.

More than half the school's 1,200 pupils are entitled to free school meals, about a third speak English as an additional language and over half come from ethnic backgrounds including Black African, Black Caribbean and Chinese.

One Small Step director Andrew Cooper said a six-day visit by the Deptford children to Devon at Easter had already produced startling results.

"Four teachers at the Deptford school independently said they had noticed a big difference in the children's concentration and listening skills since their visit.

"This might sound silly, but some of them hadn't seen hills before their trip to Devon.

"It gave them the space to do things and to go out and do activities like bowling, tennis and parties."

During their visits to the county, the London children are staying with the parents of the Devon youngsters and Mr Cooper said that had proved a resounding success.

Anthony Lilley and Magic Lantern Productions are also partnering One Small Step to help the students from the two schools build website and internet posting boards which will help them to compare experiences, lifestyles and attitudes.