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Children in Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country showed their pride in their communities by designing local flags for a competition organised by officials in Parliament.

And their designs are a fascinating insight into the history of the region - and the huge importance children place on the manufacturing heritage of the West Midlands, and on its diverse communities.

Schools from every part of the country have been asked to submit a flag to Parliament to represent their constituency.

It’s part of the celebrations to mark the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta in 1215.

Now, officials in Parliament will choose designs to be turned into real cloth flags to be flown at special events during the spring and summer of 2015.

Pupils at Banners Gate Primary School in Sutton Coldfield showed off Sutton Park - and Henry VIII, the monarch who gave the park, previously a royal forest used for hunting, to the town’s inhabitants.

There’s also Holy Trinity Church, which is associated with Bishop John Vesey, who helped revive Sutton Coldfield’s fortunes in the 16th century. And the Tudor Rose in the centre is a reminder that Henry VIII decreed that the town should be called The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield.

Pupils at George Dixon Primary School in Edgbaston chose an image of the world to represent people from every country, race and religion living in harmony in Birmingham. The sun represents happiness the warmth with which the pupils and the school treat people.

Pupils at Abbey Catholic Primary School in Erdington were inspired by a junction in the constituency called Six Ways. The circle at the centre shows that the community was never ending and the lines coming off to represent roads at the heart of the community. The colours of red and white represent England.

Pupils at Anderton Park Primary School in Hall Green were inspired by Birmingham City FC - so the dominant colour in their flag is blue! The hands joined together signify that the community and the people of Hall Green come together to help and support each other.

Pupils at St Paul’s Catholic Primary School in Northfield designed a flag with different colours to show the different communities in their area. The dove is to show that they all live, work and play together peacefully. It is on a blue background which is our school colour.

Pupils at Coppice Junior School in Solihull were inspired by their local area, Elmdon, which means Hill of Elms. The flag shows an elm tree in yellow, to represent sunshine. The green oval behind it is the symbol of the Land Rover which is in the heart of our community and employs many members of our families. The blue sky is a bright colour to represent Solihull which is a happy place to live.

Pupils at Greenfield Primary School in Stourbridge were inspired by industries which have been important to their communities. The man at the centre of the design represents Stourbridge’s glass industry, while the track forming the outline of the circle signifies the Stourbridge Lion locomotive, which was the first steam train to run on a commercial line in the USA in 1829. The two choices of colour represent both the industrial and rural history of Stourbridge.

The flag for Dudley South, by pupils at Bromley Hills Primary School, features a blue stripe representing the region’s famous canals. The red represents the sky which used to glow red as furnaces were burning. An anchor represents the Titanic anchor, made in Netherton, and the wine glass illustrates the region’s glass industry.

Pupils at Charles Coddy Walker Academy in Walsall North put a saddle at the centre of their design, representing the town’s leather goods industry. The Saddlers is also the nickname of the town’s football team, represented by the red in the flag. The blue stripe is for the canals and the black stripe represents the town’s industrial heritage and Black Country.

Walsall’s rich industrial heritage inspired pupils at Moorcroft Wood Primary School in Walsall South. The flag shows the chain, rope, brick and leather making industries that have made Walsall world renowned, while the red, white and black colours represent the Black Country.

Green represents the environment in the flag by pupils at Parkfield Community School in Hodge Hill. Red shows they are excited to learn new things. The different coloured hands around the Earth conveys all the different races that live in our world. And the stars are there to show that every child should have a chance to shine.