Five young friends proved silence really is golden.

Rhianna, Lauren, Anya, Yasmin and Amelia took part in a sponsored quiet time during school hours on Friday.

The money raised by the Year 5 pupils, who attend St Peter’s Catholic Primary, will be split between their chosen charities The British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research, Macmillan Cancer Support, RSPCA and The Children’s Trust, Tadworth.

The later was chosen by Rhianna, who came up with the idea for the fundraiser, as it has helped a family friend recovering from a brain injury he suffered in a car accident this year.

The nine-year-old said: “I chose to do it during school hours as I thought it would be a great challenge as I can be rather chatty.

“I told my friends about it and they wanted to do it with me, so we all went and spoke to one of our teachers the next day and asked her if we could do it and she said yes.

“It was so scary. I didn’t want to go to school because I thought I was going to talk.

“I loved doing it but it was very, very, very hard.”

She has already collected £490, in addition to the sponsorship raised at school which will be shared between the five charities.

Mum Jennifer said: “Rhianna has been so determined to raise funds for this wonderful charity which has helped our friends, we couldn’t be prouder of her achievement.”

BLOB To sponsor the girls visit https://www.justgiving.com/Rhianna-Thomason