A TEACHER has been to Uganda to open a library built using money raised by her pupils.

Sarah Poole, a Year 6 teacher from St Dunstan’s College, Stanstead Road, Catford, made the trip from October 25 to October 31.

The money had been raised for Ntinda Primary School, Kampala, which has used it to convert a classroom into a library, named after the Catford school.

It will be open to the whole community as well as the pupils.

A relationship between the two schools started after Mrs Poole visited Ntinda last October.

Mrs Poole, from Beckenham, said: “We went to visit the local school and when we arrived they were delighted to see us.”

There are 500 pupils at the Ugandan school, with up to 50 people in each class.

Mrs Poole explained: “If you don’t pass the end of year exam you don’t get to move up a year.

“That means there can be up to 50 in a class with just one teacher and no books.

“When I came back I was telling my class about it and the children asked if we could we start raising money for them.”

Since then, pupils have raised around £9,000 from fundraising activities, including a sponsored run, a carol service collection, a cake auction, and a sponsored swim where the children swam a total of 47 miles, which alone raised £5,177.

In a letter from David Mbiru, head of Ntinda, he thanked St Dunstan’s for its generosity and said the letters from the Year 6 pupils had caused “excitement and jubilation” at the school.

Mrs Poole said of her recent trip: “People didn’t stop thanking us.

“They’ve bought lots of text books with the money they’ve raised and they’re hoping to become one of the top five schools in Kampala.

“I’ll be going back to see them again next year.”