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Award-winning 'Chickpea' project teaches British values

Jo Kent
BBC News, Oxford
BBC A man in a dark suit is in the image. He is standing in a school hall, there is a colourful piece of childrens' artwork behind him. The man is holding a small tub, which contains a pudding called Noah's pudding. To the right of him is a table set up with many more tubs of the pudding.BBC
Mahmut Gunaydin devised the Life of a Chickpea project, which won him a BBC Make a Difference award

"Imagine you are a chickpea," says the speaker. A hall full of children at John Henry Newman primary school in Oxford are eagerly listening.

"Would you rather be in a soup, a salad, or a Noah's pudding?"

This is not a cookery lesson, but a scheme which teaches children about the values of equality, diversity and inclusion.

The initiative, called Life of a Chickpea, is now planning to expand after it won a BBC Make a Difference award.

It was devised by Mahmut Gunaydin, who leads the Oxford branch of The Dialogue Society, a charity which promotes social cohesion.

He was awarded the BBC Radio Oxford Community Award for his work.

Nominations are currently open for the 2025 BBC Make a Difference Awards.

A close up image showing an adult hand, passing a pot of Noah's pudding in a plastic pot into the hands of a child. There are more pots of pudding on a table in the foreground
Each child is given a dish of Noah's pudding at the end of the session

Stacked up to the side of the hall are piles of Noah's puddings.

The pudding is a mixture of 10 different ingredients - as well as chickpeas, it includes pomegranates, apples, apricots and barley.

The Life of a Chickpea programme uses the pudding as a metaphor for society.

"The pudding shows we can be different but come together without losing our shape, our taste, our identity," explains Mahmut.

Life of a Chickpea also tries to reinforce British Values, which have been a core part of the school curriculum since 2014.

Eleven-year-old Jesse is among the pupils listening.

"It told us that the Noah's pudding expresses all five British values, because although all the ingredients are different, they bring the best out in each other."

Siddiqa, 10, recounts the story of where the pudding came from.

"On Noah's ark, they all got very hungry after surviving the flood, and they just got every food that they had and they put it together to make the Noah's pudding."

Mahmut explains that the story is known in a number of religions. "It's in The Quran, Bible and Torah," he says.

The image shows two school pupils in dark blue uniform. On the left is an 11 year old boy, on the right a 10 year old girl. They are sat cross legged on the floor watching the Life of a Chickpea schools session which is teaching them about equality, diversity and inclusion.
Jesse, 11, and Siddiqa, 10, watched the Life of a Chickpea session at John Henry Newman school

The session is led by volunteers from The Dialogue Society, but children also get to hear from faith leaders, on this occasion from the Christian, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh communities.

"It was great for the children to see leaders from all different types of faiths," teacher Klarisa Dani says.

"I think children often view them as separate religions and actually they do all come together and share a similar belief."

Mahmut won the BBC Make a Difference Award in September.

"After that recognition, our Life of a Chickpea project had more impact in the region," he says.

"We've had more schools wanting to be involved in the project in Oxford, and we are planning to expand throughout Oxfordshire."

Session over, and Jesse, Siddiqa and their classmates are taking home with them valuable lessons - and the best bit, their Noah's puddings.

BBC Make A Difference Awards 2025 logo, white and pink writing on a purple background
The 2025 Make a Difference awards are now open for nominations

The Make a Difference Awards recognise people, across eight different categories, who are making a difference where they live.

Every BBC Local Radio station will host awards in 2025.

It is a chance to say thank you to people who make life better for others.

Nominations can be made via the BBC Make a Difference website where you can also see full terms and the privacy notice.

Nominations close on the 31st March 2025 at 17:00.

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