THE Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Trust was the brainchild of Wendy and Colin Parry and was forged in 1994.

It was the trust, under the leadership of the Parrys, which spearheaded the building of the peace centre, which was largely funded by generous charitable donations.

Since the centre opened to the public in September, 10 north-west schools, including four from Warrington have taken part in conflict resolution courses looking at bullying in schools up to world wars and how to resolve problems without resorting to violence.

The Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Scholarship started in 1996 and has seen groups of youngsters from Warrington travelling to Ireland to meet with young people and take part in workshops and visits to key places in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This year for the first time teenagers from Ireland visited Warrington and stayed in the impressive residential area of the centre.

In the future, says Colin Parry, "I hope young people will be staying in the centre virtually all the time, of any race, nationality or religion."

Future courses will include Tiny Steps for Peace, aimed at four to six-year-olds in memory of Johnathan Ball.

Dave Reid, youth worker for the trust, said: "This is to plant the seeds of peace at a very early age." Full On will be aimed at 15 to 17-year-olds from socially deprived areas in the north-west and will try to show that talking about problems is better than resorting to violence. Citizenship will be aimed at Warrington youngsters from senior school age to promote responsible attitudes.