PUPILS have stunned a national charity after raising more than £18,000 in one day.

Park View Community School, in Chester-le-Street, made the cash last Friday for the BBC Children in Need appeal. The efforts of the 300 sixth-form students places the school as one of the most generous in Britain.

John Anderson, head of sixth form, said: "I was humbled by the effort and team spirit our young people showed. I am proud to be associated with such caring and enthusiastic students prepared to go the extra mile."

Last year, the school held a similar drive that raised £14,000 for the charity, but that was after bottled gas supplier BoC promised to double whatever the school made.

Assistant headteacher Kevin Reynolds said: "Three years ago, we were struggling to break the £5,000 mark. In the last two years, it has really taken off. It is incredible when you think that the vast majority of it was raised in one day."

The bulk of the cash was raised through street collections, as all 300 students, in fancy dress, were sent out to various corners of the region.

To keep them warm, Church's Catering across the road from the school in Church Chare provided the youngsters with free hot drinks and soup all day.

The students also raised about £1,000 with three sell-out shows in the school's 240-seater theatre.

And they co-ordinated activities with the 1,150 younger pupils at the school, including dunking teachers in a bath.

"All the kids here are really generous both with their finances and their time," said Mr Reynolds.

"I watched Children in Need and saw all these cheques being presented for a few thousand pounds and thought that we really should have done more to get on the telly.

"We will definitely consider it next year."

The appeal organisers said that the donation was one of the biggest received from a school. A spokeswoman for the BBC said: "It is certainly a huge amount of money and a fabulous achievement. We would like to say a massive thank-you to everyone involved in raising such a colossal sum for Children in Need."