A WOLLASTON primary school has been collecting donations to help victims of the Nepal earthquake.

St James's School on The Kingsway has been rocked by the disaster as headteacher Sally Sixsmith made friends in the mountainous country when she trekked in the Himalayas last October as part of a fundraising drive for Acorns Children's Hospice - and Himalayan guide Dawa Geljen Sherpa paid a visit to the school in February.

Mrs Sixsmith said pupils had been concerned after hearing about the April 25 quake but she added: "Dawa Sherpa who came to visit us at school is safe and well but he is now very busy trying to help his community.

"As far as we know all of the guides who led my trek are accounted for but some of them have lost their houses and are now living in tents."

She said teachers held an assembly to explain to youngsters what happened and the school has been collecting donations, to help people affected by the disaster, which are being funnelled to the Classrooms in the Clouds educational charity which St James's had already forged links with following Mrs Sixsmith's fundraising trek.

She said: "Because the charity does not pay any of the trustees/staff - they are all volunteers - we know the money collected will go directly to help those in need.

"We are very happy to accept any donations from the public into school which we can add to our collection or people can donate directly through https://mydonate.bt.com/events/citcrecoveryappeal."

She added: "Even before the earthquake we had agreed to pay for a teacher in a school in Nepal for the next five years."