THE AFTERMATH of a typhoon that tore through the Philippines in early November touched the hearts of students in a Thornbury school.

The Year 6 class at Manorbrook Primary School rallied together after hearing about the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan shortly before Christmas.

They persuaded their parents to clear out their cupboards and donate any unwanted toys, books, games, stationery or DVDs to their charity sale on January 24 to raise money for Shelterbox – a charity that supports people in the Philippines who were affected.

Year 6 class teacher Elaine Drayton said the class often discuss what is going on in the news and around the work and that the children were incredibly sympathetic when they heard about the Philippine plight.

She said: “Before Christmas we were looking at the impact the typhoon had on the people of the Philippines and independently, the children asked if they could organise a sale to raise money to help them.

“In the New Year they wrote a persuasive letter to the head teacher to get her permission and also created posters and speeches to encourage the rest of the school to bring in donations as well as spending money.

“They created a spreadsheet to share out all the jobs which were needed to be done in the run up to the sale as well as researching different charities and then having a debate on which they should send the money to.”

During the sale the Year 6s helped the younger children by assisting them in totalling their items getting the right coins to pay which was a great way to put maths into a real life context.

“Many children even volunteered to stay behind after school to run the bases so that parents could attend as well as helping in tidying away and counting and bagging up the money raised.

“As their class teacher I was really impressed with their motivation and drive to organise an event for the whole school and how they took on their different responsibilities with maturity and with very little guidance required from myself. It was also great to see them thinking of others less fortunate than themselves.

The children raised just over £200 which they are sending to Shelterbox to support those people who were affected by the typhoon.