HARE-RAISING fun at Rodborough School has boosted the good work of two deserving charities – Skillway and Mane Chance.

Brian Howard, mastermind of the Haslemere Hares community arts project, joined town mayor David Round at a special presentation at the Milford school to Greg Bleach and Vivian Gillman from Skillway and Nicky Brooks from Mane Chance.

Students Grace, Rebecca and Finn, who are members of the Rodborough senior team and were involved in decorating the hares, also took part.

More than 100 Haslemere Hares were painted and then auctioned, and mugs and postcards of each design were produced and then sold for the project, raising more than £50,000 for good causes in the process.

The auction of Rodborough’s Peter Rabbit raised £300 for Mane Chance Sanctuary based in Compton, which helps vulnerable young people through therapeutic interaction with the horses and other animals homed at the sanctuary.

Mane Chance was adopted as a school charity in 2018 and students raised an additional £700 through a sponsored non-uniform day at the end of the autumn term.

Rodborough’s hare, Skillway, also raised £300 at auction for the Godalming-based charity that supports disadvantaged or disengaged young people by teaching them vital workplace skills.

Thanking the school for its support, Mr Howard said he was “delighted with the way the students from Rodborough had approached the project”.

Headteacher Matthew Armstrong-Harris, said: “Working on projects such as the Haslemere Hares, is a great way for our students to get involved with their local community and learn to be proactive about supporting local charities.

“The arts are a vital element of any balanced education and there is already excitement building in the lower school with the announcement that 2019 will see us welcome Haslemere Hounds to the local streets.”