Northumberland schools join forces for charity this Christmas

St Aidan’s Catholic Primary School in Ashington and St Robert’s Catholic First School in Morpeth – both members of the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust – joined forces to provide nearly 100 Christmas packages for those working offshore over the festive period, as part of the Apostleship of the Sea appeal.

Headteacher at St Aidan’s, Michael Moran, said: “Our schools have helped as the appeal came from our parish priest, Father Shaun Purdy, who is also parish priest in Longhorsley, where David Sutcliffe, head of St Robert’s, attends.

“The appeal was made by the St Vincent de Paul society at our church and we have our own youth branch, the Mini Vinnies, at school. We were given a list of items to collect and told what could go into the packs.

“We had a non-uniform day at school and asked children to bring in an item in exchange for not wearing their uniform. The response was huge – we had boxes full of things that came in, and a real range of items.”

Pupils from the two schools met in the parish church hall to assemble the gift bags, which included sweets, stationery, warm hats and gloves, socks and toiletries.

They were then collected for distribution by Paul Atkinson of Stella Maris Apostleship of the Sea, who is chaplain of the ports in Northumberland and North and South Tyneside.

“The children loved taking part in the appeal,” added Mr Moran.

“It makes their help more tangible to them when they meet the organisations they are supporting and they really enjoyed being able to pack the bags themselves as it made it more personal for them.”

Mr Sutcliffe said: “It was fantastic to be part of this appeal and our Mini Vinnies in Year 4 loved representing the school to support putting the bags together.

“We asked parents and children to support both the Stella Maris and Salvation Army Toy Appeal, as we always support a charity at this time of year to ensure we are thinking of others as part of our preparations for Advent.

“It was lovely to watch the pupils from both schools enjoying their lunch together following all their hard work.”