A children’s charity which trains ‘giggle doctors’ to work in hospitals was given a huge boost after a Wimbledon school raised more than £6,000 in just eight weeks.

Holy Trinity Primary School raised the money for Theodora Children’s Charity as part of its annual lent appeal with a host of fundraising events including an Easter egg raffle, a school sleepover and special ‘lent lunches’ put on by the staff.

The charity was nominated by a family whose child attends the school’s nursery and is currently undergoing treatment for leukaemia at the Royal Marsden Hospital.

Deputy headteacher Abigail Hann said: "The parents have commented that the giggle doctor is the only thing that can put a smile on their son’s face at this awful time.

"We had not heard of the charity before but since supporting them we have come to realise how incredible the work they do is."

Theodora trains performers from a wide range of backgrounds including actors, musicians and magicians to work in hospitals and hospices as giggle doctors with children who have disabilities.

According to Miss Hann, when the appeal was initially launched Theodora were hoping it would raise between £200 and £500.

The school managed to keep quiet just how much they had actually raised before inviting in one the giggle doctors, Dr Yoho, for a special assembly on Wednesday, May 20.

Miss Hann said: "Dr Yoho was fantastic entertainment as always and the pure shock and emotion on her face when we presented a cheque for £6,020 was incredible."

They invited in one of the giggle doctors, Dr Yoho, to accept the cheque and she let out an audible gasp on finding out just how much had been raised.

Miss Hann said the school had raised thousands of pounds in the past for some of the bigger charities, and it was good to do something for a smaller charity this year.

She said the school in Effra Road managed to surpass its own £5,000 target thanks to the determination of the staff and the enthusiasm of the pupils and parents.