This week, pupils at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Newton Aycliffe took part in the Together We Fly! World Friendship Origami Project, an inspiring initiative that forms part of Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages 2026.
The project encouraged children to celebrate creativity, culture and global unity through the art of origami. Working collaboratively, our pupils folded colourful origami butterflies, each carrying a handwritten message of friendship in a variety of languages. These messages ranged from kind wishes to thoughtful reflections on unity, helping pupils appreciate and recognise cultures from around the world.
The activity is built on the idea that, much like butterflies, acts of friendship can travel far and bring joy wherever they go. Our pupils enjoyed expressing themselves and contributing to a project that reaches far beyond our own school community.
What Happens Next?
The butterflies created by our pupils will now be sent to join thousands of others made by children from across the North East. Together, they will form a large-scale display at Newcastle Civic Centre this April — a powerful visual celebration of global friendship and connection.
We are extremely proud of how enthusiastically our pupils embraced this project. Their creativity, kindness and willingness to explore different languages and cultures reflect the values we celebrate at St Joseph’s.
Their butterflies may soon fly far, but the message they carry begins right here:
Friendship connects us all.
