Sheldon School in Chippenham raised more than £3,000 with activities including sumo wrestling, a Find Pudsey treasure hunt and a sixth form servant auction with historical fancy dress.

Head of sixth form Michael Seeley said: “Fifty sixth form students offered their services and both students and staff bid for servants. The largest ‘lot’ comprised the entire rugby squad.

“The tasks they set ranged from dressing as the teacher and assisting their lessons to carrying a pupil to lessons.”

Children at Heddington School put their hands in their pockets to raise money by making a Pudsey face out of copper coins and organising a cake sale.

The children, who also arrived dressed in pyjamas, arranged the copper coins on a Pudsey face drawn on the school playground.

They raised £80 through the copper collection and £50 through the cake sale.

Headteacher Ashley Martin said: “We made a Pudsey face on the playground and the children were invited to bring in coppers and we tried to fill up Pudsey’s face with copper. That raised £80, which for a small school is good going.

“I think in this day and age children are very understanding of Children in Need. I spoke to some of them and asked who watched the Children in Need broadcast.

“Just from watching they got a real sense of ‘yes we have helped, we have done our bit’. Children in Need is very much for children in our community who are benefitting from those sort of things.”

At Malemsbury School hair and beauty students were offering nail art, face paint paws and Pudsey hair up ears/plaits.

In total, £785 was raised and £130 of that was down to teacher Andrea Rosenthal and her hair and beauty girls.

Sherston School held a biscuit bake-off competition and pyjama-wearing day.

Youngsters baked and decorated goodies at home to be judged in school on Monday.

The winners of the bake-off were Poppy, James and Lily. Teacher Colin MacLeod said: “The children were excited to do some baking at home with mum and dad and to show them off at school.”