Caring youngsters from a Thundersley school showed they were all heart when they met with a group of pensioners to celebrate the International Year of the Elderly.

Year 11 pupils from the Deanes School, penned a link with the residents of Godden Lodge residential home in Hart Road as part of their GCSE coursework.

The students wrote poems and stories about the role of the elderly in society and the residents at the home also shared their thoughts on the subject.

Jane Foot, head of English at the Daws Heath School, said: "We talked about what it must feel like to be old.

"They wrote their thoughts down and we took them along to share with the elderly folk.

"I thought it was a lovely idea. All of the youngsters have been very sympathetic and their pieces clearly show a lot of regard for the elderly.

"The residents swapped their pieces with the pupils who stayed and chatted with them for about half an hour. They definitely enjoyed the exercise and recognised the fact that we will all be old some day."

A display of the work written by the youngsters and elderly residents will be on show at Rayleigh Library.

Linking generations - Helen Bentley,15 and Lewis Brunt, also 15, linked up with Kath Boston,86, and Wendy Redman, 64</STRONG

Picture: ROBIN WOOSEY

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