Youngsters from Gotham Primary School collected more than 13,000 pennies for their school, but the coppers raised nearly missed the penny drop box when it was time to deposit them at the bank.
The pupils raised the moneys as part of a fundraiser entitled ‘Penny Wars’ which ran over two weeks. Organised by the Friends of Gotham School, each class competed to raise the most money by bringing in coins from home to feed their class ‘Penny Monster’. The initiative raised £205.60 for the school.
A committee member from the Friends group brought the pennies in a suitcase to NatWest in West Bridgford for deposit in the coin drop machine. Unfortunately the suitcase broke upon arrival and the pennies fell out, but branch Manager Simon Oldershaw stepped in and helped collect the pennies.
A spokeswoman for Friends of Gotham School said: “The branch manager, a Knight in Shining Armour, really went out of his way to help when the suitcase broke. He asked our committee member’s son about the fundraiser and offered to donate a water bottle for each member of the winning class and of course one for our Year 1 FOGS helper who was there on the day. A big thank you from all of us at Gotham Primary School.”