Schools raise £30,000 to aid victims of Indian tsunami

Pupils and teachers from schools in North Yorkshire, moved by the plight of victims of the Boxing Day disaster, have raised almost £30,000.

The total is more than enough to build and run a school for 150 pupils in the Tamil Nadu region of India.

The money will be donated to the Friends of Mettupalayam, a charity run by North Yorkshire teachers David Eldridge, from Colburn Community Primary School, and his wife, Adele, who teaches at Bedale Primary School.

The charity aims to raise £100,000 by March next year to build a new village, called Nambikki, for 300 families.

Almost 8,000 people from the coastal community were killed and many more were left homeless by the tsunami.

Bernadette Jones, head of education policy and development at North Yorkshire County Council's education service, said: "The response has been terrific, and we can now provide the funds to build a school, buy a four-wheel-drive vehicle and still have more than £10,000 for other projects."

The money was raised through a a host of fundraising events, from non-uniform days and bring-and-buy sales, to a skipathon and a sponsored silence.

Across the county, staff, parent teachers associations and children, at both primary and secondary schools, have been helping out.

A sponsored silence at Helmsley Primary School raised £1,100 in memory of a former pupil and charity worker Robin Needham, who died when the tidal wave hit Phuket, in Thailand.

A bring-and-buy sale at Lealholm School raised £740, a raffle at the education service offices raised £174.

Aspin Park School, at Knaresborough, donated £3,000, a school idol competition at Sessay School raised £294. Huby School donated £400 and Danby School raised £57 through a dried fruit sale.

A Duke of Edinburgh Award group from Norton raised £330 through a sponsored skipathon.

A concert by tribute band Atomic Blondie raised more than £1,000, a fairground organ recital generated more than £530 and Richmond School collected more than £2,370.