PUPILS at a Hereford school are helping girls living in poverty across the world after getting involved in a dress-making project.

The year-10 students at the Hereford Academy took on the task of designing and making dresses after watching a video about children living in Africa.

The ‘Dress a Girl around the World’ charity was set up with the aim of sending dresses to girls living in poverty and students also decided to make bracelets that could be put inside the pocket as an extra surprise to the girl that received their dress.

Elahna Gregory, head of design and technology at the Academy, said: "All the students produced some lovely outfits based on their own design idea.

"I am extremely proud of my groups and would like to thank them for the hard work and dedication they have shown over the last few months – I am sure that they will be making some small child very happy when they open the parcel."

Some of the students involved in the project, Brooke Roughton, Elicia McDonnell and Richard Goodchild, said helping children less fortunate than them had made them aware that they should not take things for granted.

"This is probably the only new dress that they [the children] will ever own," the students said.

"This project has highlighted the fact that we have so many clothes compared to what these children have and I know that this one dress, made of spare material, will have a big impact on their lives."