STUDENTS here raised $200,000 for this year's President's Challenge - the highest amount raised solely by students for the fund-raising event ever.

The students' project - run by Nestle Singapore - brought together all nine uniformed groups here, totalling 31,000 students from more than 100 secondary schools. They account for nearly 30 per cent of the entire secondary school population.

'Taking the time to aid the less fortunate through activities like this will hopefully instil in our youth a lifelong commitment to lend a hand to those in need,' said the Chief Commissioner of Girl Guides Singapore, Ms Yvonne Lim.

How the money was raised: Students fanned out all over the island and set up booths at selected NTUC FairPrice stores to sell double-finger Kit Kat chocolate wafers for $2 a pop.

They sold 132,000 wafers in all during the fund-raising effort that lasted for the whole of last month.

The President's Challenge is an annual series of community-based activities initiated by President S R Nathan in 2000.

All money raised goes directly to the social service sector.

JESSICA LIM