OLDER local residents have been drafted in to help complete an ambitious community project at a North East school.

Residents who attended a Summer High Tea at Parkside Academy, in Willington, were invited to decorate their own square to be sewn into a patchwork quilt being created by the school’s Art and Textile teacher, Miss Gina McCarthy.

Local primary school pupils and their parents have also been involved, along with pupils and staff of Parkside Academy, which is part of the Advance Learning Partnership.

Miss McCarthy, who will be sewing all the patches together over the summer holiday, explained: “The idea is to bring people together in creating a quilt that reflects not only the individual, but the community as a whole. While each person will be represented by their own patch, the complete quilt will reflect the area and the community.

“No artistic skill is required, and creating the patches is adaptable to different abilities, with sewing, textile painting, or drawing.”

Events for local residents are held three times a year at the school – a Christmas hot buffet, a February Broth & Roll, and the Summer High Tea, for which the catering staff made cakes, sandwiches, sausage rolls, and quiche.

The school’s Year 7 pupils helped to serve the refreshments, with games of bingo, and a raffle to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Research.

School counsellor, Donna Heslop, who has been involved in organising the events for the past 18 years, added: “The Summer High Tea is such a lovely way for the elderly residents in the community to enjoy an afternoon with the school children.”