SCHOOL pupils from an academy have been helping the homeless in a project designed to help them understand the perils that homeless people face.

As part of their project, Year Five pupils at the Springfield Academy in Darlington took to filling backpacks, full of needed items for those living on the streets during the cold snap.

The pupils, who also worked with homeless charity, First Stop worked with their volunteers to fill the bags with socks, pants, gloves, hats, scarves, toiletries, hand sanitisers and paperback books.

Food items biscuits, crisps and sweets were also added.

Springfield Academy school pupil Amber Hutchinson, who took part in the project, said: “It has made us think about these people and hopefully helped make them feel more loved.

“Many people don’t realise how much they struggle and how much they are ignored, I hope they like what we have given them.”

Before Christmas, the Springfield Academy school pupils designed and made Christmas cards for the homeless in an attempt to bring some festive cheer to the streets.

Teacher Kelly McManus, who headed the homeless project, said: “We study homelessness as a topic and thought this would be a nice thing to do.

“It has been really good and the children have enjoyed it.

“It is important for them to realise the challenges some people in their town face in life and it certainly has helped them appreciate how lucky they are.

“They have completed some excellent creative writing on the topic and we have completed a leaflet of guidelines for anyone else wanting to help the homeless.”

The project came as the academy appointed its first ever head boy and head girl at the turn of the year.

Grace Alderson, 11 and Daniel Halliday, 10 were chosen to act as a role model for their peers.

Speaking about the initiative, lead practitioner Peter Algie said: "We were looking for a way to give the pupils more responsibility, greet visitors and show the importance of being able to articulate well and they really rose to the occasion.

"We were looking for a way to give the pupils more responsibility, greet visitors and show the importance of being able to articulate well and they really rose to the occasion."