GAZETTE & HERALD: SIX students at Hardenhuish School in Chippenham have won the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Award.

The students were given the award for raising £15,000 for the Meningitis Research Foundation over the last three years.

Helen Finnamore, Daisy Newsome, Jessica Sadler, Elizabeth Jones, Wendy Graham and Eleanor Gillian raised the money following the death of their friend Kate Dutton in October 2002.

The girls will receive their award from headteacher Colin Smith at a presentation ceremony on April 29.

The girls, who are in the sixth form and due to leave school this summer, raised the money through a series of fund-raising events, such as a duck race, quizzes and an auction of promises.

Assistant head of the sixth form Becky Ross said the school was delighted and very pleased with the award.

"We are really proud of the girls. What they did was absolutely amazing," she said.

The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Award was launched nationwide in April 2000.

It was set up to celebrate the outstanding contributions made by secondary school students to their schools and communities.

The award is given to students nominated by their schools for youth participation, service to others or for showing outstanding qualities in overcoming adverse circumstances.

Each secondary school in the United Kingdom can annually nominate one student or group of students for an award.

Since the scheme began as a pilot in September 1999, nearly 7,000 students from over 1,700 secondary schools across the UK have received awards.

A spokesman for Hardenhuish School said: "We at Hardenhuish School are very proud of Helen, Daisy, Jessica, Elizabeth, Wendy and Eleanor."