FUN and fund-raising was the name of the game at a Ponteland school's charity Abba night.
Pupils at Richard Coates Middle School, as well as their parents, school staff and people from the local parish, danced and sang to the music of the Swedish band and about £600 was collected to support a fresh water and feeding programme in The Gambia.
In 2007 a group of volunteers called The Wellwishers was formed to raise money for the projects.
And last year members Carol Morgan, a teacher at Richard Coates, and teaching assistant Frances Dawson took more than £1,000 to the African country, with support from school pupils selling raffle tickets.
The money from the Abba night, where a raffle was also held, will again be used to buy rice for the Sifoe Lower Basic School feeding programme, where children attending the school receive free school meals, and contribute to the fresh water appeal for the village of Sukuta — including a new well.
Mrs Morgan said: "More than 50 people attended and they all had a great night singing and dancing to Abba, while also donating to a worthy cause.
"With the Mamma Mia film and stage show having such a high profile, the tunes were equally as popular with the children as they were with the adults."
The best singing prize went to Year Six student Beth Mackenzie and the dancing queens were Mrs Dawson and fellow teaching assistants Marie Dunn and Sam Hood.
Source: Morpeth Herald
