GREAT Baddow High School has once again smashed its target for this year’s Operation Christmas Child shoebox appeal with an amazing 615 boxes collected, wrapped and filled with gifts such as toys, pens, games and other goodies for under privileged children around the world.

By starting to collect shoeboxes in January, receiving left over Comic Relief items from Sainsbury’s in March and carefully using money from summer plant sales sold to staff to buy lots of goodies for the boxes, the team of staff led by Learning Support Assistants Linda Williams, Amanda Burdon and Kerry Wicker have been able to enthuse and motivate staff and students to a record breaking collection of shoeboxes for this year's campaign.

Mrs Williams said: “The total for this year’s shoe box appeal is….. 615!! It is far more than we could have imagined, nearly doubling last year’s total - the van driver this morning said he had never picked up so many boxes from a school! A huge thank you goes to everyone who has helped make this year so amazing.”