Students at St Benedict College secondary school Kirkop collected food and raised money for stray animals during an animal awareness week. They also had the opportunity to attend a number of talks.

Among others, activist and TV presenter Moira Delia talked about animals in captivity, while another activist, Althea Galea, who visited the school with her dog Archie, told students how they can report cases of neglect anonymously to the animal welfare office on 1717.

Daryl Grima was invited to deliver a talk about animal testing and made the students aware that they may learn which products are not tested on animals through a mobile app. A vet also delivered a talk on how to take care of pets.

Students who practise sports had the opportunity to do an exercise session with Fabio Spiteri, who participates in various triathlon challenges abroad to raise funds for abandoned animals.

Maria D’Amato from Innocent Paws and members from the Foundation of Service Dogs also visited the school with their dogs.

Teacher Joanne Mallia said the talks not only addressed cats and dogs but also pigs and cows, and that the school organised a meat-free day this year.

The week concluded with the blessing of animals, where parents had the opportunity to visit the school with their pets.

Mallia said this awareness week was made possible thanks to all the school staff. She thanked teachers who managed to collect more than 800kg of food through the ‘house’ system challenge. The house system consisted of four ‘houses‘: starling, magpie, sparrow and robin. Students managed these four ‘houses’ and were challenged to collect food.

Teachers taking care of the house system weighed the amount of food collected every day to see who collected the most. The winner will be announced in the coming days.

Another group of teachers spent their breaks selling food and other items and raised more than €1,000, while students from each class had the opportunity to sponsor a dog or a cat from different sanctuaries for €30.