IT’S time to take pride in being British, says Marcia Hutchinson.

The Bradford-born managing director of learning company Primary Colours has built a thriving business providing schools with educational packs, teacher training and classroom theatre projects around the issues of cultural diversity.

Her Fixby-based business, Primary Colours, helps infant and junior schools across England meet their requirements under the Government’s social cohesion policies to cover what could be seen as “heavy” topics with more than a dash of fun.

Taking training courses up and down the country, she has seen the look of panic or suspicion in the eyes of teachers – often at all-white schools in leafy well-to-do suburbs – who expect they’re in for a cross between a stern lecture and “politically correct” brainwashing!

Says Marcia: ““I ask them how they would like to live next to someone flying the Union Jack from the window or whether they will be celebrating St George’s Day and they look worried!

“But when St George’s Day comes along, don’t hang your head in embarrassment. You should be proud of being British.”

And she points out that St George’ is a great example of cultural diversity. St George was reputedly Palestinian and is shared as a patron saint by England, Turkey and several other countries.

Marcia recalls: “I was born and bred in Britain, but my mother was Jamaican and I always thought of myself as Jamaican until I went to Jamaica. That’s when I realised I was British because people laughed at my accent and said I walked too quickly to be Jamaican!”

Marcia, who grew up on a Bradford council estate and attended a local comprehensive school, gained a place at Oxford and studied law. She became a solicitor before making a massive career change and setting up Primary Colours about 12 years ago.

“It all started when my daughters were small and I couldn’t find any books with really good images of non-white children. I wanted to restore some sort of balance.

“I was really interested in photography and writing, so I decided to make a simple book using pictures of my daughter and her Asian friend. I started the process of looking for a publisher and eventually decided to publish it myself.

“Initially, I aimed it at parents, but we decided to focus on schools because schools would buy books, teachers’ packs and CDs in bigger quantities.”

Now Primary Colour is a well-established social enterprise supplying books, teachers’ packs and classroom drama sessions for primary schools.The material focuses on cultural diversity, but contributes to other areas of the curriculum, including geography, IT and literacy.

One project – piloted at Spring Grove School – involves 300 youngsters across Yorkshire conducting interviews with people who have migrated to Britain. The youngsters also produce online images, maps and captions to accompany their audio interviews.

Study books include a series of one-page biographies on famous people such as US president Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela, Lewis Hamilton and Bollywood film stars. Another book now in preparation focuses on well-known footballers, some of whom were asylum seekers.

Another series of posters for display on classroom walls features an A to Z of exotic foods, encouraging teachers and children to talk about them and where they come from.

The company has a busy diary of engagements. In the space of a week this month, Marcia or her team members have been to Kent, Nottingham and Sunderland – with much of the firm’s business with local education authorities or individual schools won by word-of-mouth recommendation.

The firm’s five-strong team includes creative director Peter Tidy, who has 25 years experience in teaching and Shazia Azhar, a full-time deputy headteacher. The company also draws on a bank of experienced freelance actors, writers and illustrators.

Said Marcia: “When I set the company up I had no business training, but I knew I could find people to help me. My legal training has come in useful, but the most difficult part has been getting the marketing right. Anyone can publish books and end up with hundreds of them under the bed. Selling them is the real trick!

“We are starting to target our marketing better. We are planning to update our website – as well as getting into social networking – and we are improving our IT systems.”

Marcia recognises that her role is changing as the business grows. “When you start a business, you turn your hand to everything,” she says. “At some point, the business gets too big and you have to delegate. In order to grow the business you have to give up some of the fun stuff.

“I am very much a manager now. I occasionally go out and do some of the shows because it is great to interact with children. I also do a fair number of teacher training sessions, but really I am becoming more and more a manager.”

Planning ahead, Marcia recognises that a squeeze on public sector spending could have ramifications for Primary Colours. She says: “Local authorities get their spending on a three-year basis. Their current funding will run to 2011. We have been spending the past 18 months cutting our overheads and getting our company lean and mean for when the funding cuts come.”

However, Marcia is keen to keep the company focused on its role as a one-stop shop for primary schools and has resisted suggestions that she expand to cover the secondary sector.

“We work with a great team of primary school teachers and as the only company doing what we do, we have to understand our customer,” she says.

When pressures of work allow, Marcia enjoys music, film and watching stand-up comedy, saying: “The importance of laughter is badly underestimated.” She also combines a love for travel with a passion for architecture and design – counting a visit to Venice and the chance to stay at a restored North Yorkshire castle among her holiday highlights.

“I take my hat off to people who roll up their sleeves and get stuck in and work really hard,” says Marcia. “Entrepreneurs are sometimes derided in our society because you get the sort of excesses that caused the economic crash. But the people I have got to know are to be admired for being willing to work hard – not knowing whether or not their efforts will be successful.”