YOUNGSTERS at schools in Fulflood and Weeke will be learning all about the slave trade with the help of a famous spider and some lottery cash.

Thanks to £10,850 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Winchester-based multicultural theatrical group, Footsteps, will be visiting Weeke primary and Westgate secondary schools in January to tell the tales of Anansi the Spider.

Stories featuring Anansi are thought to have originated in Ghana and were carried by slaves being taken to the Caribbean before being brought back to England to become a familiar ingredient in African-Caribbean storytelling in the UK.

Anansi is a quick-witted creature who survives a range of problems through cunning and trickery.

His tales will help pupils find out about the slave trade, which was outlawed 200 years ago.

Having researched the legacies of slavery and how it relates to their present day lives and the community, the children will be tasked with creating a dramatic performance and a DVD.

Project leader, Mbeka Chifunda, said: "We will be looking at how slaves bound for the Caribbean were comforted by Anansi stories, tales of the crafty spider whose cunning and humorous tricks gave them the resilience and wit they needed to survive."

His colleague, Chantelle Lindo, added: "This project will work with two forward-thinking schools to explore the positive legacy of slavery and enable young people to discover the art of storytelling.

"The young people will not only be tracing the historical links to slavery but also about forms of slavery prevalent today."

Sheena Vick, from the Heritage Lottery Fund, said: "This project will provide a valuable learning experience for participants and audiences alike by enabling them to see how traditional tales reflect historical events."