PRIMARY school pupils in Bicester have sent chocolate bars carrying messages of support to flooded-out pupils in the north of England.

Each chocolate bar sent by pupils at St Edburg’s Primary School carries a personal message – ‘Don’t worry’; ‘Everything will be OK’; ‘Hope you are OK’; or ‘It’s going to be fine’.

While pupils at St Edburg’s were packing up their belongings to move to a new site in Bicester, people in the north of the country were packing up belongings for an entirely different reason.

Among those affected by recent floods are children in Burnley Road Academy School in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire.

St Edburg’s headteacher Margaret Kunzer said: “In the first week back, children were reminded that not everyone has had such a good start to the year.

“Some children in schools in West Yorkshire and Cumbria have been badly affected by the floods.

“Our pupils thought about those children at Burnley Road Academy School in Hebden Bridge who were badly flooded on Boxing Day and they wanted to do something.

“They decided that even though they could not help with the clean-up operation they could send messages of hope and encouragement.”

Children wrote out their messages during prayer time at the school and are planning on sending them to the school along with a large rainbow card to “show care and support”.

The show of support came as staff and children settled in to the new building in Kingsmere after saying goodbye to 150 years in Cemetery Road.

The original building dates back to June 1859 but the school has now moved to its new bigger site in Kingsmere in response to a growing population.

The school is now able to double in size following the move from its original 150-pupil intake.

The building includes a large sports hall with changing rooms, a smaller circular hall for exhibitions, shows and smaller assemblies, a large playing field, playground space and a “wild area”.

Mrs Kunzer added: “The whole school is so excited to be in our new building at last.

“It is a wonderful learning environment for the children and a complete contrast to the Victorian building that we have left.

“The children love the lightness of the building and the extra facilities that it offers.

“Having a purpose-built kitchen means that we can serve hot dinners cooked on site and this has proved very popular already.

“This week we opened our nursery and it was great to see young children enjoying the stimulating learning environment.”