STUDENTS at Uplands School will do their bit to help eradicate the polio virus by hosting a huge meal for the community.

Pupils at the special school made 60 bowls of soup on Friday, which will be sold as part of the World’s Greatest Meal, a fundraising project organised by Rotary International to end polio.

During the week of February 23, Rotarians all over the world will be raising money for the final push in polio eradication by taking part in The World’s Greatest Meal.

Polio, a highly infectious disease that invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours, has been eradicated from all but three countries in the world and Rotarians hope that India will be declared a polio-eradicated country shortly.

The students and staff at Uplands will be holding a lunch on Thursday, February 27 from noon to 2pm and serving homemade soup and rolls for a donation of £3, £1 of which will go towards the End Polio Now campaign.

Letters have been sent to parents and residents in the nearby community inviting them to join the Tadpole Lane school for a lunch served up by the youngsters.

Fiona Clark, the school’s lead for community inclusion, said the pupils had all been keen to do their part to help other youngsters still struck by the debilitating disease.

She said: “It’s fantastic that students want to help out other people who are perhaps dealing with bigger problems than they might have.

“We were keen to pick a campaign that was current and fitted with our curriculum of teaching the students about the wider world.

“They have done some research so they know what it is about and the enterprise team have been making the lunch.

“Residents of Redhouse and members of the Rotary Club have been invited and the pupils will be serving soup and a roll, followed by a piece of cake.”

For more details visit www.ribi.org/news/ribi-news/the-world-s-greatest-meal.