ARNEWOOD School students have raised an impressive £2,643 in a bid to help schools affected by the massive earthquake in Nepal.

The students leapt into action after hearing of the tragedy just six years after pupils at the New Milton school helped build a primary school in the now stricken country.

The small school they helped to create was damaged but survived.

Now they have decided to donate money raised through a series of events to the charity DCWC Nepal which is helping to re-open schools currently out of operation.

Students wore non-school uniform in return for a donation and they also held cake sales – they even paid to throw water at teachers in the stocks.

Head of school, Nigel Pressnell, said: “Nepal holds a very special place in all our hearts after we worked on the project to build a new school for a Nepalese community.

“In 2010 a group of our students went to Nepal to help build and open the school, we were so proud to see it up and running.

“When we heard of the earthquake disaster our thoughts immediately turned to that school and the others our friends at DCWC Nepal have helped to open."

Mr Pressnell said students were relieved that the school they helped in 2009 had survived but saddened that others had been destroyed.

“That devastating news made us all determined to raise as much money as possible to help DCWC Nepal on the path to re-building the schools again.”

In June 2009 trustees of DCWC Nepal visited Arnewood to raise awareness about the country and begin fundraising for a new school.

By the end of 2009 more than £4,000 had been raised and the new Baikaplik Primary school was officially opened by a group of Arnewood students in the summer of 2010. Arnewood also later contributed to the school’s library extension.

DCWC (Development of Children and Women Centre Nepal) was established in 2003 to help the poor women and children of Nepal by providing educational and health facilities. Since that time the charity has gone onto build 15 schools and a hospital in various rural areas of Nepal.