Saturday, April 19, saw 170 pupils and staff spend the night in a car park at St Basils, one of the largest agencies in the UK which works with young people who may be at risk of homelessness or are actually homeless.

The aim of the event was not only to raise awareness of the plight of the homeless among the pupils, but also to raise money for the charity.

So far about £6,000 has been raised and funds are still coming in.

Publicity officer for the school Liz Dillarstone said: "It was a very positive experience for the pupils from the perspective of recognising what it's like to be out in the elements, not only dealing with the weather but the noise as well.

"They also got to meet some of the young people who have benefited from the work of St Basils, who came to talk to them about their experiences of how they had ended up on the streets and how St Basils helped them."

On their return to Oundle, as part of the school's annual Field Weekend, pupils heard more about the work of organisations closer to home including The Haven Night Shelter and St Theresa's in Peterborough and Homechoice in Northamptonshire, in a series of talks given on Monday morning.

Liz added: "The final message was that the reality is it could happen to anyone at some point in their lives and it's quite frightening how little there is on offer."

Oundle School's connection with St Basils dates back to its opening in 1972. The then head of community service and English teacher at Oundle School, Jeremy Firth approached Les Milner offering the help of a group of pupils from Oundle School with the renovation of St Basils, a then derelict church in Deritend.

For further information, visit www.stbasils.org.uk