WHILE children all over the country are still recovering from stuffing their faces full of chocolate over Easter, a group of strong willed youngsters took on the ultimate challenge and gave up sugar for lent.

Eight children from Manningtree High School managed to forgo the temptation of eating sugary foods after RE Teacher and Buddhist, Dharmachari Advayamati, set the year seven pupils the challenge of giving up sugar to mark the christian tradition of lent.

The task was set in order for children to gain insight into other religious beliefs and to look at their own diet in more detail.

Dh Advayamati said: “My interest in religious Education isn’t just in the class room, it is about helping children understand who they are and what values they have.

“So I put out the challenge and asked the children if they wanted to go without sugar for 40 days and 40 nights, quite a few took it up but only eight pupils managed to complete the task.

“They did extremely well considering that some of them were teased by parents who were dangling sugary products in front of them.”

The children who took part in the task say they began to eat more fruit and vegetables and felt less tired after resisting temptation.

One boy even lost a stone in weight during the challenge.