Barford St Peters Primary School and Westgate Primary School in Warwick collected more than £200 as well as sending school uniforms, puzzles and toys to the People United to Serve Hunger (PUSH) orphanage in the Chennai district of India.

The link was made when Westgate parent governor Michele Broadbent travelled to the region, formerly known as the Madras, as part of her work as an airline stewardess.

She was shocked when she saw the orphanage, which had no toilets or running water, a leaking roof in one dormitory and very few clothes and toys for the 36 children it cares for.

After she returned home Mrs Broadbent was approached by Barford St Peter’s teacher Jane Sault, who had heard about Westgate pupils’ earlier donations to an orphanage in Africa, and the two women set about finding ways to help.

Children at the Barford school held a collection for the Indian orphanage last summer and raised more than £200, as well as sending around 50 uniforms they had outgrown.

Mrs Broadbent told the Courier: “I knew without a doubt that the orphanage would welcome the kind generosity offered by Barford St Peter’s.

“All of the children were thrilled with the donations and wasted no time in putting the money and clothes to good use.

Then in December infants at Westgate collected old toys, books, puzzles and games which they said they would like to send to the orphanage.

Mrs Broadbent delivered these on a visit to the orphanage shortly before Christmas, and also saw how the £200 donation had been used to build a new toilet block for the orphanage.

When the work had been completed Mrs Sault showed pictures of the orphanage in a school assembly.

She said: “The pupils were amazed to think that there are children in the world who don’t have proper toilets.

“The other surprise was that you can do so much with so little money and the children were very pleased to see that they had helped.”

Mrs Broadbent added: “It is great to be able to help the orphanage, although it was not really me - I was only passing on other people’s contributions, which is a wonderful thing.”