Hackney pupils got today’s Chinese New Year celebrations off to a roaring start this week.

Children at De Beauvoir School in Tottenham Road launched balloons carrying messages of respect into the sky, ate Chinese food with chopsticks and watched a Chinese lion dance on Tuesday (February 1).

Chinese New Year 2011, the Year of the Rabbit, falls today (February 3) with festivities taking place across the world.

Tanya Spain, deputy headteacher of De Beauvoir, said: “An understanding and respect for all people in the world is the message that we send out. We strive towards getting it right in our school in hopes that the rest of the world will get it right too.

“We celebrated Chinese New Year and sent a balloon launch to the world with ideas and messages of acceptance and respect for all cultures. The lion dance was amazing.

“We all ate with chopsticks and read fortune cookies, learned about another culture and celebrated the Year of The Rabbit. Our Chinese students were so happy to share their culture with us.”