Newminster Middle School has bought 16 Nintendo DS Lites and the hand-held console has many interactive challenges to sharpen up mental arithmetic skills.

Pupils raised £800 and the school's PTA matched it to bring the total to £1,600.

A major part of the fundraising efforts were '5p Fridays' events.

This involved bringing in the 5p coins they had collected and taking part in maths activities with them such as measuring the diameter, calculating the area and estimating how many of them would needed to cover a school desk.

Assistant Head Teacher Jane Kennedy said: "The students are thoroughly enjoying using the DS Lites, including the PictoChat facility to communicate with each other and games like Brain Training.

"Early results show that this is an engaging and motivating way of improving every child's mental arithmetic."

• Pictured, left to right, Year 8 pupils Sarah Sexton, William Barnes and Aidan Hughes. Ref 450805.