Kids Collect 50,000 Conkers For Charity

Kids Collect 50,000 Conkers For Charity
SWNS

Primary school pupils have gone bonkers for conkers and collected more than 50,000 of the brown nuggets (just don't tell the health 'n' safety killjoys!)

Kids at Clifton Green Primary School in York, North Yorkshire, took part in the harvest collection to raise money for charity.

Local business The Churchill Hotel had agreed to sponsor the collection for 10p per conker - albeit to a maximum of £250, while a Vauxhall dealer had also given £100.

The mammoth effort ended up raising a total of £1,300, with all of the money raised going to Martin House Children's Hospice in nearby Boston Spa, West Yorkshire.

Community outreach worker John Hattam said the school came up with the idea while making plans for its annual harvest celebration at Clifton Methodist Church in the city tomorrow.

He said: "We decided to do something that all the children could do, that would get them out and about with their families and raise money for the hospice.

"But we never expected them to collect so many. We have filled about ten 80-litre boxes. One family alone collected about 2,000 conkers."

School employee Claire Neal said: "It's a conservative guess that there are 50,000 conkers.

"All the conkers are in the school in boxes at the moment and it would take a long time to count each individual one.

"We are hoping that somebody might buy them and we have offered the children to take them home.

"There has been a lot of talk that conkers help to keep spiders away from the house so some people might want a few to help with that.

"The children have done it all in their own time and it has been a real family effort. That's what we are all about at the school, family and community.

"The idea is based on the harvest festival and all the children have loved it. Teachers have got involved with their families and all the money will go to Martin House children's hospice.'

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