While most people become grandparents one child at a time, Mackay's Ross Wallace gained hundreds of grandchildren in a matter of hours.

Mr Wallace, more commonly known as Poppy Wallace, was adopted as Whitsunday Anglican School's grandfather 15 years ago, as a part of their Prep Poppy Program.

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"I'd finished work and I happened to be talking to a friend, and I said to her, 'I'm retired, I don't know what I'm going to do, I don't have any grandchildren," he said.

"She said 'Well, why don't you come to Whitsunday School and be the poppy there?'"

It was not an idea Mr Wallace initially jumped at.

"I kept making excuses for the whole year and then in 2002, she rang and said 'School starts tomorrow and I'm picking you up' and I've been here ever since," he said.

The Prep Poppy Program is designed to bring young and old together — for friendship, guidance and storytelling.

"I come into the classroom with the pre-schoolers and become involved with whatever they are doing," Mr Wallace said.

"If they are writing, I assist with the writing; if they are reading, I become involved."

While he is not a teacher, Mr Wallace is also given the opportunity to speak about some of his interests with the five and six-year-olds.

"I am given a bit of time to talk to them, and I quite often bring things along and talk about insects, plants, rocks and stones, and fish and animals — all the things of nature," he said.

Mr Wallace helps out with colouring-in. ( ABC Tropical North: Harriet Tatham )

Aside from learning, the program also helps to introduce the students to elderly people — something Mr Wallace said children often missed out on.

"A lot of them don't have grandparents for varying reasons, and some of them have grandparents who are a long way away, and I suppose I can fill the role there a little bit," he said.

"I would never be as valuable as their real grandparents, naturally, because they are extremely important and special and I would never pretend to be, but I do get involved sometimes in little things.

"I have young people coming to show me where their tooth fell out or where they've cut their knee. I tie shoelaces and I wipe tears for the pre-schoolers."

A 'step-in' grandfather

Year 11 student Brittany Masters has been a 'grandchild' of Mr Wallace for more than a decade, and said having a grandfather around was vitally important because it was something she missed out on at home.

"For me it was awesome because my grandfather lives far away, so I'm not very close to him, I don't get to see him much," she said.

"Poppy Wallace was an awesome step-in grandfather."

These Year 11 students remember Poppy Wallace reading to them when they were five-year-olds. ( ABC Tropical North: Harriet Tatham )

Educational benefits from program

Aside from the intergenerational friendships that have developed, Prep teacher Shirley Wood said having a grandfather in her classroom had help with education outcomes.

"It's a social interaction to start, and it's a chance for Poppy Wallace to talk about the good old days in our curriculum of history," Ms Wood said.

"Poppy talks about good manners, helping people, all those sorts of things, and the children seem to really respect him."

Ms Wood said it was a scheme she hoped other schools would look to introduce.

"I wish more schools would probably do it. It's hard to get that commitment from people, but well worth it," she said.