Students at Cromer Academy have once again shown that the spirit of Christmas is still alive, with their annual shoe box collection. Students and their families, along with teachers and members of the local community, were united in filling a grand total of 215 shoe boxes full of toys for children in Serbia.

For the last 7 years, students at the Academy have sent gifts for under-privileged children between the ages of 2 and 14 to the Serbian city of Novi Sad, twin city of Norwich, through the Samaritan's Purse charity. Once again this year, a group of students from the academy accompanied the boxes to the Samaritan's Purse depot in Norwich, preparing their gifts for the long journey by road across Europe. The students helped volunteers check boxes, and make sure they were safe to travel. The boxes will be arriving in Novi Sad in time for Christmas, ensuring that youngsters in the city will have presents to open, and provide them with some Christmas cheer.

Year seven student Ellen Hedge said: 'We worked from form time in the morning till after break, packing, checking and wrapping the boxes. When we got to Norwich the 12 of us helped check other shoe boxes, learnt why certain things couldn't go in the shoeboxes and much more. It was a brilliant day. Well done and thank you to everyone who got involved.'