Fundraising for South Africa

Sheppey Academy students raised a tasty sum by selling popcorn during England's World Cup game against Slovenia.

Five students from tutor group Sheerness 17, including Deputy Head girl Hannah Walker, sold the snack to fellow pupils watching the match in the hall after school.

The enterprising scheme raised nearly £40 for a fighting fund to help buy equipment for a school in South Africa.

Teacher Michael Thomas launched the appeal after he was sent photos from his cousin Sharon Beltman, who is a teacher there. He was shocked at what he saw.

"She has been teaching children in classrooms without proper electricity supply, running water of full toilet facilities," he said.

"They also play football without any shoes and have very few clothes and no toys. When I showed her photographs to my class they were horrified and asked to help."

Pupils have already donated a huge pile of clothes and toys to the appeal to help lighten the lives of South African children, many of whom suffer health problems.

Sharon said: "Our nearest town is East London. It has a population of 600,000 with a large camp of one million squatters on its outskirts. We live on the east coast in a very rural and quiet area in between Transkei and Ciskei, which were known as black lands in the apartheid era.  It is my way of giving back something to the local community. Often the kids are taken out of school for months at a time. We have a lot of children suffering from the effects of their mothers drinking alcohol while they were in the womb, a couple of epileptics and many with learning problems. It is an experience I could never forget or leave and walk away from."