STUDENTS at Bridgwater’s Haygrove School contributed towards a lorryload of Christmas hampers which were delivered to the Victoria Park Community Centre over the festive period.

A group of Year 11 students and teacher Tim Handel accompanied the hampers to the centre, where they met staff and lunch club diners.

The centre liaises with other local charities which work in the community to identify people who could benefit from extra provisions at Christmas time.

This Christmas, the centre was able to re-distribute the Haygrove hampers to 35 elderly people and 12 families in need.

Tracey Hobbs and Leslie Richold, of the Home Start charity, were on hand to help organise the donations.

Tracey told the Mercury: “There are always families who need a helping hand and who might find Christmas a particularly challenging time of year.

“Haygrove School’s hampers really helped us reach out to people in need.”

Each school tutor group was tasked with decorating and filling a hamper, and the end results were judged by head teacher Mrs Canham for originality as well as the variety and quality of the contents.

Tutor group 9M were victorious with their innovative design, which included a working bubble-making machine to create that extra special effect.

The students of 11K took second prize, 8T came third, and 9L and learning support received a special commendation for their hampers.