CHILDREN at a city primary school put in a soup-er effort to keep the homeless warm and well-fed in the run-up to Christmas.

Pupils at St Aloysius Primary in Woodstock Road made more than 24 litres of vegetable and lentil soup to donate to homeless people using the Gatehouse hostel.

The Gatehouse provides free food and shelter to about 80 homeless and vulnerable people every night at Northgate Hall in St Michael's Street.

The Year Five children learned about healthy eating and science as they mixed celery, leeks, carrots, turnips, onions and lentils on Monday as part of a school scheme to promote good work in the community.

Teacher Maxine Baker said: “It was a very nice thing for the school to do and we very much hope people who need the Gatehouse enjoy eating it.

“The children really enjoyed making the soup and sampling some of it.”

Teaching assistant Sophie Pietersen added: “It was nice to be able to do this so close to Christmas when it is cold out.”

The soup has now been delivered to the shelter, which was started by central Oxford churches in 1988. Some of it will be served up immediately and some will be frozen for later use.

Acting headteacher Maureen Thompson said: “One of our key objectives is to work in the community with our children to make sure they are citizens of the community as well as citizens of the school. To do that they need to work with people that are less fortunate than themselves.

“Working on the soup for homeless people allows the children to donate the vegetables, to do the cooking and the preparation, and see the outcome of what they made.”