Burghfield Common's The Willink School dresses up to donate hundreds of kilos of food to the West Berks Foodbank

A West Berkshire school has dressed up and donated to help people in need, beating the record for the biggest single collection, writes Y8 Willink pupil Joshua.

The Willink School recently donated 557.8 kgs, about twice the weight of a large motorcycle, of food to the West Berks Foodbank.

The pupils from the Burghfield Common school dressed up as traffic cones, clowns and even a dinosaur.

Rosie Ginn from the West Berkshire Foodbank said the donation was “a wonderful thing to have done,” and added: “You have provided for the clients in our community.”

Some of the 1,171 products donated included many taken for granted, such as shampoo and instant coffee. The donation was the largest West Berks Foodbank has collected in a single pick-up.

Assistant head at The Willink, Innes Ballantyne said he was exceptionally proud of the generous and hard-working pupils at the school.

He said: “We were thrilled that our students and their families responded so positively to the call for donations.

"In previous years students have brought gifts for our Christmas Fair and money to different charities. This year, because the Christmas Fair was cancelled, students brought donations for the West Berkshire Foodbank.

"We were overwhelmed by the generosity in our school community and delighted that we beat the record for the biggest single collection.”

Ms Ginn added: “The Willink has really excelled itself with its Harvest Festival collection for West Berks Foodbank.

“Your donations have been weighed and totalled 557.8kgs. This is huge and equates to 1,171 meals that you have provided for the clients in our community. What a wonderful thing to have done.

"Can you please pass on our sincere thanks and gratitude to everyone involved with your non-uniform day and decided to support our charity. It is very much appreciated. Thanks also for enlisting the support of your Sixth Form to help Bob load up the van. He really appreciated that too.”

The West Berkshire Foodbank is part of The Trussell Trust’s network of 428 foodbanks across the UK, working to tackle food poverty and hunger. Almost one in five people in the UK now live in poverty due to changes in circumstances.

If you would like help the charity contact the West Berkshire Foodbank by emailing info@westberks.foodbank.org.uk or calling 01635 813390.