BARGAINS G LORE!

HERMITAGE Academy parents and pupils enjoyed a “glorious day” filled with fun activities during their latest table-top sale.

There were over 60 stalls at the event on Saturday, April 27, selling handcrafted goods and second-hand goods as well as games and crafts for the children, a bottle tombola, and a tea and cake stand.

The sale raised £1,700, which will be used to support extra-curricular activities and clubs.

The event was held at the school and was organised by the Academy’s parent-teacher association (PTA).

Gill Simpson, the PTA’s chair, said: “We are really grateful to everyone who supported this fab event especially as it was a glorious day, so we were competing with some rare Helensburgh sunshine.

“All our fundraising supports extra-curricular activities at the school, which has an impressive range of stuff going on, from sports clubs and drama shows to wargamers, beading and book clubs.

“So we will be holding a coffee and cake event next month as a thank you to all the teachers who organise them all.

“I know it’s early in the year but keep an eye out for our biggest annual fund-raiser which is the Christmas fair in November.”

Outside the school, personnel from Helensburgh’s fire station and Police Scotland were there with fire appliances and police cars.

The PTA put on a free spring trail with prizes for the little ones attending.

PTA member Elizabeth Lambert said: “It was a really lovely day, and the best thing is that all the money raised goes back to the pupils at the school.

“It’s really impressive how many different extracurricular activities the teachers provide for the pupils, and we give financial support to help them run.

“We have funded all sorts of activities like supplies for the bead club, theatre trips, funding towards the Prom, Duke of Edinburgh expeditions, match kits for sports teams, and awarenessraising resources for the LGBTQ group.

“We also host a family social to welcome the new S1 families to Hermitage Academy, so if you are coming to the Academy in August get ready a very noisy and fun beetle drive evening.”

The Helensburgh Toy Shop supported the event by providing sideshow games for the children.

The PTA Christmas craft fair will take place on Saturday, November 23.

(Photos: Tom Watt)