DOZENS of Bishop Auckland school pupils used their entrepreneurial skills to raise money for a popular hospice.

The youngsters who have just started at Bishop Barrington School, in Bishop Auckland, attended a summer school as a bridging exercise to help them make an easy transition from primary school.

As part of the activities, they made crafts and chocolates to raise money for the Butterwick Hospice.

More than 100 staff and parents came along to purchase some of the goods and together with a bake sale and refreshments put on by hospice volunteers, the event raised £259.05.

Community fundraiser for Butterwick Hospice, Helen Kirby, said: “It’s great to see young people in the hospice. The patients really loved seeing the children playing in the garden.

“The children and their guests seemed to enjoy the lovely cakes kindly donated by volunteers and staff. The amount raised is brilliant.

“Without people like this we couldn’t survive, we rely on a huge amount of our funding from the community to pay towards our running costs.

“All the services the Butterwick Hospice provide are completely free.”

To fundraise for the charity call 01388-660644.