On a very blustery Monday lunchtime in May, a crowd of excited Guildford High School girls and their teachers gathered on the school lawn to release almost 200 balloons as part of a fundraising drive for Chase Children's Hospice.

A group of girls from Year 8 thought of the idea and took on responsibility for organising the event. For the last few weeks they have been busily ‘selling' balloons to friends, parents and staff during their breaks to raise money. The tagged balloons are now drifting in the skies over Guildford and the girls are waiting expectantly to find out how far they travel.

There will be fantastic prizes for the three balloons which reach the farthest distance and are returned to school by the end of the year and, in the meantime, £160.90 has been raised for this worthy cause.

Please note that the NABAS (www.nabas.co.uk) balloon release Code of Conduct was followed to ensure minimal environmental impact. The latex balloons, string and tickets are entirely biodegradable and no plastics, which can be harmful to wildlife and the environment, were used.