Mr Atkinson will be adding his voice to those of the hundreds of Ponteland students who are backing the Send My Friend to School campaign.

They are calling on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to follow through the pledge the Government made in 2000 that all children of primary school age around the world would have the opportunity to attend school by the year 2015.

Send My Friend to School is the UK part of a worldwide movement known as the Global Campaign for Education, and is backed by a variety of relevant charities and educational organisations.

One in nine of the world's children — a total of around 72 million — currently do not have the chance to go to school.

Girls, disabled children and those living in countries affected by war are most at risk of missing out on education. At the current rate of progress 58 countries have little or no chance of achieving the goal by 2015.

The UK Government has played a vital role in securing global action on education, and in 2006 committed £8.5 billion in education aid to be distributed by 2015.

On April 23, teachers in 120 countries around the world taught the same lesson at the same time.

Students, including those at Ponteland High, learned why education is so vital in the fight against poverty and discussed what they would have missed out had they not had an education.

They also learned about what their teachers and their fellow students at Ponteland Community High School have done to combat this lack of education in various parts of the world, such as building a classroom in Marich Pass, Kenya.

The students have each filled in an action card provided by the Send My Friend campaign (www.sendmyfriend.org) on the theme of what they would have missed out on had they not had an education.

These will go on display in their school's main entrance hall, along with those decorated by Head Teacher Stephen Prandle, Deputy Heads Mrs Anita Brown and Mr Chris Richardson, and Mr Atkinson, who delivered his action card to the school.

All of the cards will then be sent to Mr Brown ahead of the G8 summit in July to serve as a reminder of the pledge his Government has made.

School assemblies carried on the theme, looking at what students would have missed out on if they had no education, what causes a lack of education in the poorest countries, why more girls miss out on an education than boys, why this problem is so important and what can be done to combat it.

Mr Prandle said: "School is a vital part of a person's development.

"Without it, we would have very limited understanding of the world beyond our own immediate community, and little chance of benefiting from the experiences and genius of all those who have gone before us.

"Depriving children of the opportunity to attend school also means we are depriving the world of their imagination, and the contribution they can make to our future."