A Sussex school has made sure 500 of the most vulnerable children in London will have a winter coat after a moving speech kick-started a campaign.

Roedean staff and pupils – and their relatives – clubbed together for its Coats for Christmas campaign after Camila Batmanghelidjh delivered a speech on child poverty.

Camila, who was named as one of the 100 most powerful women in the UK by the BBC and made a CBE for her work on behalf of underprivileged children in Britain earlier this year, was at the school for Speech Day.

After the visit, headteacher Oliver Blond set the school a challenge – to help the 500 children on a waiting list receive a winter coat.

In just a week, thanks to the efforts of the charity prefects, pledges from pupils, parents, grandparents, staff, suppliers in the city and other supporters are still pouring in.

Mr Blond said: “It is essential that great schools like Roedean have a social vision at their heart.

“If each of the families from our school community were to sponsor a child’s coat, then we would have collectively made a difference to 500 children.”