Pupils and staff at a preparatory school will raise money for a hospice after selecting it as their charity of the year.

Year 7 and 8 students at St Martin’s School in Northwood will be getting their heads together to come up with a programme of fundraising activities to put on throughout the year for the Michael Sobell Hospice (MSH) , also in Northwood.

So far, ideas in the pipeline include a cake sale, secret Santa, Bob-a-Job, a Balloon Race and some other sponsored events.

Every year the prep school selects a charity to support throughout the school academic year to raise money and awareness.

The pupils are hoping to beat their target of £8,000 raised last year for the Rickmansworth Waterways Trust.

Headmaster David Tidmarsh said: “This year we were keen to support a local charity which helps local people.

“Often the smaller charities get less attention than the larger national charities but are no less important.

“The school has also recently had connections with the Charity, some of our pupils’ families have received fantastic care and support from the Hospice.”