AN ANDOVER school has once again taken part in the annual Shoebox appeal on the run up to the festive period.

Every year, the Wessex Rotary organises the scheme, and shoeboxes full of goodies are donated by children at Winton Academy.

They are then transported to Eastern Europe where they are distributed to orphaned children who would otherwise not have anything special at Christmas.

This year, head of Year 9, Miss Frost, and the Year 9 students coordinated the project for the school, organising the shoeboxes and asking students in every tutor group to donate gifts for their shoebox.

Then, the Year 11 Christmas Elves - Jaz, Charli , Keira and Callum - volunteered their time and their wrapping skills to make each box into a beautiful gift for the children to open on Christmas day.

A Winton Academy spokesperson said: “Our thanks go to the Wessex Rotary for driving this fantastic initiative, and to our Winton students for their big hearts.”