AN IMPRESSIVE fundraising total of more than £13,000 has been generated by a school to support a 'valuable' charity.

St Helen and St Katharine School in Abingdon has handed £13,235 to Asylum Welcome, which supports asylum seekers and refugees arriving in Oxfordshire.

The Oxford-based charity was chosen by the private girls' school as its charity of the year in 2017, and parents, staff and students helped to stage fundraisers.

The school's headmistress Rebecca Dougall said: "The value of fundraising goes so much further than simply the money raised for the school charity.

"It promotes teamwork, a spirit of compassion, develops the students' awareness of the wider world and encourages them to consider what and how they can contribute to improve things for others.

"It has been a pleasure to work with Asylum Welcome and immensely satisfying for the school to be able to donate this money, allowing the charity to continue its valuable work."

The money will be used to fund the work of Asylum Welcome's youth activities officer this year.

Cash was raised through an array of events including an Easter egg hunt and Christmas fair.

The school's chef also created a cookbook packed with his recipes, which was also sold to raise money.