THE dedication of ten students has resulted in more than 1,000 food items being donated to help people in need this Christmas.

Members of Richmond School and Sixth Form College’s thriving Charity Club hosted a quiz which ran for several weeks, culminating in a grand final last Friday. To take part, students were invited to bring an item of food to support the initiative.

Organisers were overwhelmed with the raft of donations, which have now been handed to StoreHouse, the foodbank in Richmond, including hundreds of tins of food, pasta, cereal, biscuits and much more.

Six members of the Charity Club, which was created to enable students to build links with the community and develop their leadership skills, delivered the collection to StoreHouse at the Influence Church, where they helped Peter Heslop, community manager, stock the shelves and prepare food bags that are given out to those in need on a weekly basis.

Nicola O’Malley, who leads the Charity Club, said: “The students have been an inspiration. Not only have they committed to weekly meetings to plan and organise the whole-school and college project from years seven to 13, but they have gone and above and beyond by planning four-weeks’ worth of events leading up to Christmas.

"Their teamwork, creativity, determination and excellence are tremendous and they are a credit to themselves, their families and Richmond School and Sixth Form College. It has been an honour to supervise this club and enable them to lead on this fantastic opportunity. I hope they can use the skills they have learned to provide further opportunities for the community in the future.”

One year 12 student described the visit to StoreHouse as "a real eye opener to the struggles of what many families face on a weekly basis".

Mr Heslop said: "We have been blown away with the huge donation of food that the students and staff from Richmond School and Sixth Form College have collected for us. It has been fantastic to hear about the work of the school's charity group and it has been a privilege to work with them on this project. The students have been really committed to supporting StoreHouse and their dedication has reaped fantastic results which will see many families benefit from their generous donations at this challenging time."

Richmond students have also been bringing festive cheer to the community by providing the musical entertainment at the turning on of the town's Christmas lights, and performing at The Station’s Christmas fayre and the Mayor’s Concert. In addition, students’ Christmas designs are on display at the library, the town hall, St Mary’s Church, the Georgian Theatre Royal and Tesco at Catterick Garrison.

Headteacher Jenna Potter said: “I am so proud of all our students who are giving so much to our community this Christmas. This year, more than ever, will be a challenging time for many families and the work of our Charity Club will help those who need additional support."