A teacher from Abingdon is preparing to cross the Atlantic, as part of an effort to stage a worldwide youth opera.

Margaret Bulleyment, a teacher at Fitzharry's School, has been invited to join an international arts event in Canada, which brings together international artists and performers.

The Canadian Symposium is being held to discuss ways of using the arts to promote tolerance. It is part of a two-year project which will see a specially-written opera, Jason and Hanna, performed by children around the world.

Fellow attendees at the symposium in July will include representatives of the Florence Opera, the Pavarotti Music Centre and the British Council.

The opera will be performed at the Oxford Playhouse next year by Oxfordshire schoolchildren and adult professionals. It will be produced by the Mostar Co-operative, based in Bridge Street, Osney Island, Oxford.

Mostar director Melanie Challenger, 25, said: "I am thrilled to have this opportunity for Margaret. She will have the opportunity to work with 50 children who will also attend the symposium to put forward their views on opera education.

"I feel very determined that projects that promote tolerance should receive the high profile they deserve."