AT a time when all thoughts are on the biggest and best Christmas presents, pupils at Parrenthorn High School dug deep in their pockets for a number of charities.

Every year the students hold a variety of fundraising events over a two-week period and each year group chooses a worthwhile recipient.

This year the youngsters excelled themselves and raised £3,000 to be divided between six charities consisting of Compassion UK, which helps support education abroad, Francis House Children's Hospice, the Children's Deaf Society, the British Kidney Association, Cancer Research and Christie Hospital.

For Year 9 pupil, Sam Carney, the British Kidney Association was particularly pertinent as his mother Debbie had a kidney complaint and passed away in July.

Headteacher Mr Mick Fitzgerald said: "The charity was very close to Sam's heart and his grandmother, Debbie's mother, came along and accepted the cheque on behalf of the British Kidney Association."

Mr Fitzgerald said the pupils had raised an "excellent" amount this year after taking part in a range of fun activities.

He added: "A popular event was the Year 11s selling themselves off as slaves."

Pupils and staff attended a special charity assembly, where the cheques were presented to the various charities, and former pupil Nissa Finney, who is now a lecturer at Liverpool University, gave a talk about how important it is to donate to charity.