ORGANISERS of the Larkrise School Christmas Fair in Trowbridge are hoping to raise more than £2,000 to help its special needs pupils.

The fair on Saturday is likely to be the last under the school's current name.

Wiltshire Council is expected to change the name of the school next year and appoint a new executive head teacher.

The council plans to merge Larkrise with the special needs schools at St Nicholas in Chippenham and Rowdeford to create one new super-school.

The transition will make it easier for the council to transfer them to one site at Rowde near Devizes when it creates a £33 million new school in 2021.

Emily Wadds, a school governor at Larkrise, and a member of the Friends of Larkrise School who organised the fair, said: "This could well be the last fair under the Larkrise name. Probably by Christmas next year, the school will have a new name.

"We normally raise around £2,000 but we don't know whether we will get that this year because we swapped dates. The fair is generally held on a Friday, not on a Saturday."

Kayleigh Ramplin, who was dressed up as an elf, said: "We are trying to do our best to support the school while we still have it."

The event included a Lazer Light Roadshow, with Foxy and Fleedge, a fox and a hound in costumes, as well as stalls selling Christmas gifts, wrapping paper and gift tags made by the children, cards, knitwear, toiletries, games, sweets, chocolates and fudge, and Christmas cakes.

Parents, children and other visitors were also invited to buy raffle tickets and chance their luck on the tombolas, as well as have their face painted.