CHILDREN in Africa are to benefit from brand new school uniforms thanks to the generosity of children.

Pupils from New Silksworth Academy have donated more than 500 items of unworn uniform to school children in Gambia.

Jumpers, T-shirts, PE kits, cardigans, coats, book bags and shoes were all collected from the academy by Sunderland-based charity Box Youth Project to send to schoolchildren in the poverty stricken Gunjar region of Gambia.

Acting assistant head teacher Joanne Beavers said: “Our new academy opened in September this year after the infant and junior schools began working closely together.

“This meant that we had a surplus of old stock uniforms in our school shop that had never been worn and that we really didn’t want to see go to waste.

“I’d heard about the work of the Box Youth Project in Sunderland and thought that they would be the perfect re-cycling solution for all the clothing as part of their Project Gambia Appeal.”

The seven boxes of uniforms will form part of a shipping container of donated equipment from schools across the North-East, including desks, chairs, books, stationery and sporting equipment.

The container will travel to Gambia in January where Box Youth Project workers and volunteers will distribute the contents to local schools.