Four Oldham academies have planted Peace Pledge Saplings from the seeds of a tree that survived the 1945 Hiroshima A-bomb, with pupils signing a peace pledge as well.

Community members from Oasis Hub Oldham along with staff and students from Oasis Academies Oldham, Leesbrook and Clarksfield joined local dignitaries to plant the saplings from Hiroshima as a symbol of peace and hope.

Four Oldham Oasis Academies have signed the Pledge to Peace and join 24 other local academies, schools and colleges in making the commitment.

Marie Dillon, Principal of Oasis Academy Oldham, said: "This tree symbolises our hope for peace within the school community, within our borough, and between the people of the United Kingdom and Japan.

"I know that the pupils and staff will cherish and nurture it as it grows into a mighty tree."

The Pledge to Peace was launched in the European Parliament in 2011 to "promote a culture of peace across Europe". The seeds were gifted to the Mayor of Oldham by the Mayor of Hiroshima.

Richard Outram, Secretary of the Oldham Pledge to Peace Forum, said: "These seeds came from a gingko tree which survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in August 1945 and they were first planted at a special ceremony held at Alexandra Park in April 2017 by Japanese hibakusha ladies who had themselves survived that same atomic bombing."