THIRD year business management pupils at Lomond School in Helensburgh have once again co-ordinated the school’s support for the Mary’s Meals Backpack Campaign.

Pupils led the project from its launch to the collection of the completed backpacks, presenting at an assembly, running an advertising campaign within the school and conducting weekly collections from form classes, as well as organising two fund-raising events at Debenhams.

A total of 100 completed backpacks were handed over for distribution by the charity to children in need around the world.

Karen Ferguson, teacher in charge of business and economics, said: “The Mary’s Meals backpack campaign is an excellent project to participate in as it takes time and commitment from the whole class.

“The actual process lasts for a number of months and the pupils feel a great sense of achievement by the end.

"It really is about children helping children, and charity work is something we do a great deal of at Lomond. I am very proud of the pupils.”

READ MORE: Pupils lead Helensburgh school's support for charity backpack appeal

With the assistance of S6 academic mentors, and the generosity of the school as a whole, the team were able to hand over 100 completed backpacks to Mary’s Meals for distribution to children who so desperately need to be able to attend school and escape the cycle of poverty they are in.

They were also delighted to receive a donation from a member of the local community who had read about the project on the school Facebook page.

Mary’s Meals is a Scottish based charity formed by two brothers from Argyll, Magnus and Fergus MacFarlane-Barrow, and its aim is to ensure that every child receives one daily meal in their place of education.

Today, the charity is feeding 1,230,171 of the world’s poorest children every day they attend school.

Mary's Meals have numerous campaigns including World Porridge Day, Sponsor a School and the Backpack Campaign.

READ MORE: Helensburgh pupil's charity efforts are hailed at Holyrood

Pupil Sophie Reid, who participated in the project, said: “The story behind Mary’s Meals really touched me and I was very keen to get involved.

"I enjoyed fund-raising and packing the bags and it put a big smile on my face knowing they were going to such an amazing cause.

"It has been great to have the opportunity to turn our learning in class towards something like this which can have such a direct impact on someone else’s life."

Her classmate Marsali Hogg added: “It’s been one of the most rewarding things I have ever had the chance to do.

"It’s incredible to know that we can make even a small difference to other children.

"It has been really hard work organising the fund-raising and making the money raised go as far as possible, but it was great to put what we were learning in class into practice.

"I have really enjoyed participating and knowing that it can help is so special."