PUPILS at a Darlington school have been collecting Christmas presents for children living in poverty and in orphanages in Afghanistan and the Ukraine.
Children at Eastbourne Comprehensive School were so moved by a videotape showing the poor conditions the children lived in that they collected hundreds of Christmas presents - enough to make gift boxes for 60 children to be given on Christmas Day.
Acting headteacher Karen Pemberton said: "On the video there was footage of children who received last year's gifts, and the difference it makes to those children is fantastic.
"For some of them it will be the only Christmas present they will get.
"The pupils were very moved by the video. We challenged them to get enough presents together for one box per tutor group, which would make 34. But they went much better than that and we have over 60.
"Our 11F class collected enough presents for eight boxes."
The boxes are being given to the charity campaign Operation Christmas Child next week, and will be sent by convoy lorry to Afghanistan in time for Christmas.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article