FORTY students and staff at a Bradford school had their hair cut in aid of a charity that helps children suffering with cancer.

The group – made up of 36 girls, two boys and two employees at Dixons City Academy, off Manchester Road, West Bowling – donated their shorn locks to the Little Princess Trust.

The charity provides real hair wigs to children who have lost their own hair due to cancer or other illnesses.

The students and staff have also raised more than £1,000 – after setting a target of £500 – that will be donated to the charity.

Deborah Vickerman, a student voice co-ordinator at the school, was one of two employees to get their hair cut.

She said: “It feels absolutely fantastic. The amount of hair we had donated was amazing.

“It was absolutely fantastic how many kids donated their hair.

“The quality of their hair and how beautiful it was, was an amazing thing to see.

“It was quite a personal thing for them to do and quite a moving thing they did.

“And to be able to donate £1,000 to go towards helping the charity with costs at their end is brilliant.”

Mrs Vickerman was inspired to do the challenge by a student who had her long hair chopped last year in aid of the same charity.

She said: “I had a student last year who had the most amazing hair.

“She had someone in the family who had cancer and she cut her hair for that.

“Hair is very important to teenage girls – it is part of their identity.

“I was moved by what she did, when she cut her hair. It was a real statement.

“When I started growing my hair, lots of my year 11s did, too.”

She added: “It is just wonderful what the students have done.

“The year 11 girls kept asking what I was doing. When I told them, they just wanted to get on board right away, and it grew through word of mouth.

“It was overwhelming. I found out the stories of why the students were taking part.

“Hair is a personal thing to give. It is part of their identity and who they are – especially the girls who spend lots of time crafting their hairstyles. It is definitely a moving thing.”

Mrs Vickerman said students from years Seven to 12 took part in the challenge and that the longest donation of hair was 30 centimetres. One of the boys who donated had quite long and curly hair, she said.

The charity provides real hair wigs, free of charge, to children in the UK and Ireland who have lost their hair as a result of cancer and other illnesses.

A spokesman for the charity said: “As a result of treatment for cancer, most children will suffer hair loss as a side effect. Some boys and girls cope remarkably well but for others this can be very upsetting.

“We work with specialist suppliers and experienced hairdressers who offer wigs tailored to the individual child’s needs to give the most realistic look and feel, as close as possible to their original hair.”

To donate to the school’s appeal, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/dixonshairappeal.