Santa's surprise visit to Sheffield schoolgirl

The 11-year old Darnall youngster helped organise a dress-down day at Sheffield Park Academy, and the £1,126 raised by the effort helped top off her fantastic total sum. Half the proceeds went to Weston Park Hospital charity too.

Storm’s achievements have already earned her the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s ‘Young Fundraiser of the Year Award’. This was presented to her at the House of Lords in October, by television wildlife expert and personality Bill Oddie at a special event hosted by Baroness Gale.

And this month the Sheffield Cat Shelter and Morrisons threw a surprise party for Storm to thank her for her help.

In keeping with the festive season, it was Santa himself who dropped by Park Academy recently to present Storm with a cheque for £563 .

Executive principal Craig Dillon said: “We’re delighted to have been able to support Storm in her fundraising, as well as supporting Weston Park, who do such an incredible job.”

He continued: “A big thank you to everyone who took part and donated.”

Storm said that her motivation for raising cash for animal charities is simply that she has always loved animals and so does whatever she can to help them.

She added: “To be recognised for something that I enjoy doing is doubly fantastic.”

The student hopes to realise her dream of becoming a veterinary surgeon in the future, after fulfilling her first goal of amassing £10,000 to support animal charities.