A NON-UNIFORM day was held recently at Otterham Primary School for the Jeans for Genes Day and raised just over £80.

Each child was asked to bring in £1, which allowed them to wear as much denim clothing as they chose, whether that be trousers or a top.

This was the first time that the school has got involved with the scheme.

Genetic disorders are a big issue in the UK. In a human body there are around 25,000 genes, however it takes just one or two to go wrong for a genetic disorder to happen.

The facts are startling, 1 in 25 children have a disorder which equates to around half a million people, so it is vital that as much money can be raised as possible for such wonderful charities.

On the day, the younger children, from Reception up to Year 2 came in their non-uniform while the rest of the school were shown videos and given case studies about some of the effects of genetic disorders and how genes make up the human body.

HRTA (Higher Level Teaching Assistant), Trish Foley was tasked with setting up the day and believes it was a success.

Trish said: “It was a really good day. As ever, pupils are delighted when they get the chance to come into school in their non-uniform so it’s always good to see their smiling faces.

“However the idea of the day was to be able to express to the children about how genes make up the human body and that not everyone is as fortunate as them.

“I think it gave us all an idea of some of the difficulties they encounter and help us understand what we’d be able to do if a child with a genetic disorder came into our school.

“So overall everyone had lots of fun but also got the chance to leaen about an extremely important issue which we now have a much better understanding of.”