Children from The Heights Primary school are getting into the spirit of Christmas by donating their toys for the third year running to Reading Family Aid’s Toy and Teens appeal.

Each Christmas disadvantaged children across the town receive a stocking's worth of presents via the campaign, which in 2016 received around 10,000 toy donations from the people of Reading and reach 1,350 children.

Schools across the borough support the appeal by hosting in-house toy collections for the charity to distribute to other, less fortunate children in Reading.

Headteacher at the Heights Karen Edwards said: “Here at the Heights, we are very happy to support Reading Family Aid’s Toys and Teens appeal for another year running.

"We’ve found that this timely appeal is of great value when introducing the concept of charitable giving to young children. Asking our pupils to donate a Christmas gift for a fellow child living in Reading, is a powerful way of explaining that not everyone in our community enjoys the same advantages.”

If you or your child’s school would like to get involved in the Toys & Teens appeal, the charity is accepting donations until December 3. Reading Family Aid can provide you with an education pack and poster to support your efforts.

Reading Family Aid Chair Wendy Howell said “We are appealing to local schools to arrange a collection on our behalf, asking their pupils to bring in a donated new or ‘as new’ toy with them to school. "The toys should be unwrapped and suitable for a child aged 0-16. It is always worth remembering that the toys will be given to a child to receive as a Christmas present, so please only donate items that are of a standard suitable to be given as a gift in this way.

"You may find that it works best to have a ‘Toys & Teens’ donation day, or to extend the collection over a week; whatever best suits you school.

"We can even arrange for the donations to be collected from your school at a time to suit you."

Get in touch via info@readingfamilyaid.org for more information.