This happy Harvest scene is what you would have witnessed if you happened to be out and about on a fresh autumn morning in Therfield last week.

Royston Crow: Murat Babayev and Lucas Thirlwell enjoyed making the sweet treats.. Picture: Therfield First SchoolMurat Babayev and Lucas Thirlwell enjoyed making the sweet treats.. Picture: Therfield First School (Image: Archant)

Children from Therfield First School worked together to bake these delicious chocolate chip cookies in class and got to hand out the sweet-treats of their labour as part of a Harvest ‘gift of giving’ tradition.

The aim was to spread seasonal happiness with their ‘Cookies of Friendship’ project – which followed the success of previous years’ efforts when youngsters handed out chocolate brownies and bunches of flowers.

In total, 57 pupils, aged four to nine, dressed in their hi-vis jackets to hand-deliver their cookie parcels to all 150 houses and buildings around the village, including St Mary’s Church, Therfield Pre School and the Fox and Duck pub.

Lucas Thirwell in Year 3 – pictured here enjoying stirring the cookie dough – said: “Making the cookies was so much fun. I hope we get to eat some of them too.”

Thomas Benson, aged four, added: “It was great fun making the cookies,” and Donnie Rigaut, eight, said: “I enjoyed delivering the cookies because it brought friendship”.

Earlier in the day children came to school dressed as fishermen, farmers, fruits, vegetables and farm animals and were served a special Harvest breakfast provided by the staff, before delivering their treats.

The two-day project was first introduced by headteacher Tara McGovern when she took up post in 2015, and judging by the smiles on these children’s faces, her work has had a positive effect.

She said: “Within hours of the project starting the school began to receive cards, emails and phone calls of thanks. For those residents who were not in when the children came calling, they were left a gift on their doorsteps waiting to greet them after a busy day out.

“Some residents rarely have visitors, how lovely to answer the door to enthusiastic young children, singing cheers of ‘happy Harvest’, bearing edible gifts of friendship.

“The children have a real sense of pride. Many of them receive personalised ‘thank-you’s’ from the residents that they visited. This really is the gift that keeps on giving!”