Highfield pupils have been spreading festive kindness

The kind-hearted pupils have been taking part in activities and challenges to raise funds and spread kindness as part of their annual festive winter gift programme.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, pupils were unable to take part in many of their usual activities. But despite challenges, the caring community at the school still found ways to make a difference.

Pupils and staff worked together to help people experiencing hardship in Blackpool by holding collections for food, hygiene products, warm clothes and gifts, and delivering hot meals.

This included donating essential items to StreetLife, the Blackpool based charity which helps vulnerable young people and provides emergency shelter for those who are homeless.

Pupils also took part in a special ‘food for all week’ where they filled the school with donations of tins and packets of food that were carefully packed into boxes ready for distribution to vulnerable people in the town.

The school opened its kitchens so that pupils could prepare hot meals for the local charity, Amazing Graze. The freshly-cooked food was then distributed through the charity’s soup kitchens and will also be used to create street packs that will be given to local homeless people.

The emotional wellbeing of people in the community was also a concern for pupils and saw the school turned into a hive of activity with pupils creating messages and gifts ,including recorded messages and Christmas Carols, for community groups such as St Mary's Church, Blackpool Society for the Blind.

Other activities included pupils creating 100 ‘memory’ decorations for people who were mourning the loss of a loved one, masks that were sold to raise funds for families whose incomes were affected by the pandemic, and Christmas cards that were sent to residents in nursing homes, or people who were isolated and in need of friendship.

Local charities will also be remembered by caring pupils who will be taking part in a sponsored Elf run for Trinity Hospice and Brian House. The charities were specially chosen by pupils who wanted to help them continue with their important work. A Christmas jumper day also helped to raise vital funds for Save the Children.

Highfield leadership principal Andrew Galbraith said: "Our Festive Winter Gift Programme is an opportunity for our pupils to get out and make a real difference to people living in our community.

"This year has been a year of challenge but, despite this, our pupils are continuing to shine brightly through their positive actions and desire to do good.

“We consider ourselves to be incredibly fortunate to be part of such a caring community, and we are grateful to everyone who has helped to support this year’s campaign.”