A pupil at Anstey Junior School in Alton organised an event for all pupils and staff to wear pyjamas to school to raise awareness for the charity Pancreatic Cancer Action.

It is the only UK charity dedicated to saving lives through early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, which is the fifth biggest cancer killer and tenth most common cancer in the UK.

Pupils took part in many activities to raise awareness, including wearing pyjamas to school, taking part in a fun quiz, playing pin the pocket on the pyjamas, and designing their own pyjamas.

A school spokesperson said: “We are very proud of the pupil, who also supported runners at the London Marathon who were running to raise money for Pancreatic Cancer Action.

“Raising money for this charity means they can continue to raise awareness of the symptoms to ensure early diagnosis.”

A spokesperson for Pancreatic Cancer Action said: "Public awareness of pancreatic cancer is very low, with half of all patients having not heard of the disease before their own diagnosis.

“This is why it is one of our key aims to improve this so more people recognise the symptoms they or a loved one may have and go to the doctor sooner.”

Early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is important because if it can be diagnosed and treated at an early stage, before it has spread or grown too large, then survival rates for patients are significantly better.

Pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rate of any of the common cancers. Currently only around ten to 20 per cent of pancreatic cancer patients are diagnosed at an early stage and in time for potentially life-saving surgery.

If surgery is an option it increases a patient’s chances of surviving for at least five years from 7.3 per cent to around 29 per cent.