Thanks to the unselfish efforts of more than 140 schools - nearly 60 of them primaries - the TESUNICEF Children Helping Children campaign reached its halfway point in May with an impressive pound;80,000 raised. The campaign is helping around two million Afghan children receive an education, some for the first time, by rebuilding schools, buying equipment and training teachers. UNICEF’s deputy director in the UK, Anita Thiessen, said she had been “thrilled with the enthusiastic response of teachers and pupils” whose efforts were making a “valuable contribution” to the charity’s work in Afghanistan.

End-of-year summer fairs and sports days offer plenty of opportunities to add to the appeal fund. Everything you need for putting fun into fundraising, including an A-Z of ideas, sponsorship forms, campaign leaflets and logos, is on The TES website www.tes.co.ukafghanistan, together with a wealth of ready-to-use teaching materials and lesson plans for primary age children. For news about events in Afghanistan and British schools’ fundraising exploits, see the children’s weekly campaign newsletter The Kite Flyer, also published on the website.