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The Anglican churches of Great Ayton with Easby and Newton under Roseberry raised £3,475.60 from their Carol Services over Christmas to support a school for poor children in India. Roseberry School in Darjeeling was set up in 2007 by Helen Jones from Great Ayton.

The Revd Paul Peverell, Vicar of Great Ayton said, "Roseberry Topping is a hill that sits between my two Parishes, and it's name was given by Helen to her school. It's a fitting name for the school as it sits on the side of a steep hill in Darjeeling. The school has grown both in numbers and reputation over the years, and is doing really well. It's nice to think there is something of North Yorkshire deep in India."

Helen Jones said, "I am a retired teacher, and during a 'one off' holiday of a lifetime in India at the age of 60 I met a wonderful young guide called Bijoy who was very keen for me to return to India to teach. He explained what a terrible deal the poorer children had in terms of education. I didn't feel I could do this because of family responsibilities, so suggested putting money into an existing school to improve it. Bijoy and his wife Rachana refused to have anything to do with this idea because of the corruption which would inevitably lead to the disappearance of my money. Eventually Rachana suggested we set up our own school for disadvantaged children on the outskirts of Darjeeling where they lived.

"The school opened in 2007 with 26 pupils and with Rachana as its Director. My job was to raise funds in the UK. After less than a year it was apparent that there was great demand for places at the school and amazing support her in the UK for the Charity School Aid India which I set up to raise funds. It was also apparent that we had outgrown the tiny school building so I launched an appeal for £50,000 to put up a new building. I made several visits to Darjeeling to try to negotiate the lease of some building land, and we raised the money in a little over two years. Building work started in December 2010 and was all supervised by Bijoy and Rachana. It was a desperately difficult site on the side of a mountain, and all was done by hand.

"Meanwhile the growing number of pupils was accommodated in various store rooms and cupboards under Bijoy and Rachana's house, and with the help of occasional volunteers I was simultaneously trying to change the teaching methods which were archaic, learning by rote and copying off the blackboard. The new building with its large rooms turned out to be the catalyst for a vast change in teaching styles. I introduced the idea of a carpeted area around the blackboard so normal in UK schools, and to my surprise the teachers joined their pupils sitting cross legged on the floor and never looked back .

"Our pupils are almost all from seriously disadvantaged backgrounds, and families whose income is around £1.50 a day. We buy school uniforms so that no children are barred by poverty from attending. We also buy school materials, pay the staff and provide furniture as well as paying the lease rent. It has never been difficult to motivate myself to do this work, I only need to spend some time with the children each year and to see their happy faces."

To find out more about Roseberry School, or to help support the children's education, please visit www.schoolaidindia.org.