Boys at Tonbridge School have raised over £10,000 for charity by sleeping rough for a night.

The students were raising money and awareness for Porchlight, a charity supporting vulnerable and homeless people in Kent and Croydon.

Over 100 first year pupils, aged 13-14, took part and were joined by 40 scouts for the 17th Tonbridge Air Scouts and the 1st Hextable Air Scouts.

Provided with nothing more than a roll-mat, sleeping-bag and cardboard to build individual shelters in the school quad, the experience aimed to provide an insightful perspective into the life of a homeless person.

Staff organised a soup kitchen and Porchlight provided educational workshops with guest speaker Simon, who currently lives in Tonbridge.

He described how the charity helped him move away from a life on the streets.

Tonbridge student Rory McDowell, 14, said: “At the beginning of our evening we split into groups of roughly three or four people. We then collected our cardboard, with which we planned to build our makeshift shelters. The enormous amount of cardboard was donated kindly by the local ‘Furniture Village'.

“The collection of the most valuable pieces of cardboard ended in a frenzy involving around 80 boys all rummaging through heaps of cardboard searching for the pieces that would give them the edge over their neighbours’ design.

“After this frantic collection we set about building our makeshift-homes. This process showcased the boys’ initiative, resourcefulness and creativeness with some particularly eye-catching designs witnessed.

“In the morning we had freshly prepared bacon rolls as half the boys traded stories of how restful -or not - their night was and the other half propped up against walls and tiredly ate their food.

“We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who helped or donated money generously.”

Kate Boulding, Porchlight’s community fundraising officer, said that this year’s total has surpassed all expectations. “We’re so grateful to the Tonbridge School and the two Scout groups for raising such a fantastic amount of money – it really is an incredible achievement.

“The number of people sleeping rough in Kent has doubled in the past three years, which means our services are needed more than ever. This generous contribution will make a huge difference by helping us continue to offer life-changing support to some of the most marginalised and excluded people in our society.”