THE origins of the newest 'subject' on the curriculum of teenagers at a Burnley school could hardly lie further from their classroom -- as its roots are located 12,000 miles away in New Zealand.

For girls at Ivy Bank High School are learning the Haka -- the ancestral Maori war dance made famous down the decades in pre-match ritual by New Zealand's All Blacks rugby stars.

But it is not just for fun that these youngsters have spent hours rehearsing the dance steps and getting used to the words of the chants that Maori warriors once used to intimidate their foe.

For their learning the warlike Haka is actually all about spreading peace and understanding between people of different races and cultures -- an effort Ivy Bank High is involved in as schools across Britain are being asked to help promote this year's Manchester-based Commonwealth Games.

Because of the racial disturbances that hit Burnley last summer, its pupils were the first to be given an advance copy of the education pack being distributed by Games organisers anxious to demonstrate the importance of engendering accord among different nations, cultures and traditions.

It is an ideal that underpins all the sporting competition of the Commonwealth Games. And it is a standard that needs to be fostered in the cultural diversity of modern-day Britain -- above all, in communities where understanding has been seen to fail and descend into ugly racial conflict and mistrust.

The youngsters learning the Haka in Burnley are embracing that challenge. All schools being asked to promote the Games in similar ways can do the same -- and should. For if athletes from so many countries can come together in the spirit of friendship, so, too, can Britain's diverse communities -- with their young people showing the way.