PUPILS are providing some festive charity with their own Christmas compact disc

The recording produced by young people from Tudhoe Grange School, near Spennymoor, with the help of nearby primary schools, was made to raise money for this year's BBC Children in Need appeal.

The school decided to break with traditional Christmas carols when they recorded the compact disc, called Rock It - It's Christmas, written by music teacher Adrian Biddulph.

It is hoped sales will exceed those from the school's previous Christmas recording, which raised £2,000 for Children in Need.

Mr Biddulph said: "Our pupils gain a great deal from professional recordings and have appeared on national television, and the band has performed around the world. It is very important to us to be able to give something back and to use music, which gives us all so much pleasure, as a vehicle to help those children who are less fortunate than our own pupils."

The school is continuing with the fundraising next week in order to help Daniel Lee, 9, from Spennymoor.

Daniel has severe autism and Tudhoe Grange hopes to raise enough money to buy him a computer to use at home, after the tremendous headway he has made using a computer at Trinity School, in Durham.

The school will be holding a disco, sponsored silence and non-uniform day to support the fundraising efforts.

l To buy a compact disc, costing £5, including postage, call (01388) 816050