A SCHOOL smashed the national record for the most popular donor registration event, as part of a drive to save a pupil's life.

4,855 people signed up to the stem cell register at Worcester's Pitmaston Primary School this weekend, with hundreds queuing up outside waiting to get swabbed.

An army of volunteers helped locals to complete tests and fill out registration forms, in a bid to find a tissue match for Oscar Saxelby-Lee.

The five-year-old, who has a rare type of cancer, has been given just three months to live and is in desperate need of a stem cell transplant.

His teacher Sarah Keating said: "I've been teaching for 20 years and I've never had a child go through something like this.

"You hear about children getting cancer and you think 'that's dreadful', then you move on. In this case we haven't moved on, we will fight this."

The 44-year-old said she was amazed by how many people turned up to register on Saturday morning.

Even more people turned up on Sunday, queues stretching into Pitmaston Park.

Oscar's teaching assistant Laura Senter, aged 22, said his diagnosis came as a shock to their class.

She added: "I couldn't believe it. I saw him before Christmas and he was his usual happy-go-lucky self.

"It's a nightmare for this to happen. You can't really do anything about it, it's heart-breaking.

"If a child falls over and cuts their knee you can put a plaster on it. With something like this you can't just fix it.

"That's why we have gone into 'action mode' to try and find a donor."

Miss Senter said she and Ms Keating visited Oscar in hospital for his birthday in February.

She added: "All the parents bought gifts for him.

"Because of all the chemo he was very swollen but you could tell he was very much still him inside.

"When we came out we knew we needed to do everything we could to support him."

DKMS, the charity that tests the swabs, said its record for the highest number of people to take part in a registration event is 2,200 people.

Volunteers were sat at tables and chairs in two of the school's halls over the weekend, handing out swabs and completing donor registration forms.

One Kidderminster couple went to the event because of their daughter.

Lucy Dexter, who was at the school with her husband Adam, said: "We saw it on Facebook and we have made a day out of it, we are doing some shopping later.

"With us having our three-year-old daughter, Chloe, it hit home that it could happen to any family.

"It takes five minutes to carry out the swabs, it's so simple and it's for such a good cause. If we can't help Oscar there might be other families we can help.

"The school have organised it so well and so quickly. It's so busy but people are constantly flowing through."

She added that the number of people who turned out to register was amazing.

Another couple, Andrea and John Kelly, handed out refreshments at the school.

Mrs Kelly, aged 71, said: "We are here to help the school because our three grandchildren come here.

"We had heard about the little boy, he's in our youngest grandchild's class. It's heart-breaking for a five-year-old child to suddenly be struck down like he has been.

"When you have grandchildren of your own you fear for them, it could happen to anybody. Everyone has thought 'that could be my child'.

"We wanted to try and do something to help. We are too old to do the swab so we said we would volunteer."

Oscar's parents, Olivia Saxelby and Jamie Lee, of McIntyre Road, Worcester, found out Oscar had T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia on December 28.

They pleaded for locals to attend the event at Pitmaston Primary School or to request a swabbing kit from DKMS or Anthony Nolan.

To get a kit go on www.dkms.org.uk/en/register-now