King’s School celebrates 25 years of Christie fundraising

On Friday 6 December 2024, The King’s School in Macclesfield will once again transform into a runway as sixth form students present their annual charity fashion show in support of The Christie Charity.

This year’s show marks an incredible 25 years of partnership between King’s and The Christie Charity with the Prestbury school surpassing an impressive £100,000 in total donations—a milestone reached ahead of this year’s event.

The fashion show was the brainchild of King’s Sixth Form Charities Committee back in 1999. Over the years, the show has evolved in style and purpose with a different theme each time.

This year’s dazzling event will see over 100 students take to the stage, with many others helping out on the night. They have chosen the theme of ‘Blockbusters’ for 2024 and will be playing homage to seven incredible movies, from classics to more recent box office hits.

For the past 25 years, students have liaised with local clothing outlets or with brands to provide the clothes. Last year, they chose a sustainability theme and all the outfits modelled were either vintage or from charity shops. This year, the pupils are sourcing their own clothes from a variety of different places.

King’s School is supported by The Christie Appeal in Macclesfield (CAM) group which has been a dedicated supporter of The Christie Charity for nearly 3 decades. The fashion show is one of the key events in its calendar and is very much a team effort led by the Fashion Show Committee, which is a group of pupils who have volunteered to be dance leaders/Sixth Form prefects, supported by teachers Miss Dawson, Miss Lally and Mr Leah. This group selects the movies, curates the song list and helps with the general running of the fashion show – monitoring fundraising, helping to collect raffle prizes, making decisions about the layout, and advertising.

“It has been amazing to get to work with so many of the Sixth Form pupils and help to encourage and inspire them to take part in fundraising for The Christie Charity,” said Miss Dawson, one of the organisers. “As an ex-pupil, who participated in the fashion event as a Sixth Form student myself, I was keen to get involved and help provide students with the same experience that I had.”

King’s School makes a conscious effort every year to ensure that its pupils understand their role in the community and view citizenship as a responsibility. Each pupil taking part in the fashion show is asked to raise £100 for The Christie Charity, with some raising even more.

Miss Dawson added: “The Christie Charity does such amazing work, and to know that through helping pupils in their fundraising I am supporting a wonderful charity, it is such a positive experience.”

Year 13 Pupil and Chair of the Fashion Show Committee, Cece Stanley, said: “It’s a truly special honour and it is an opportunity for our year group to come together and do something special to raise money for The Christie Charity. Donations from us mean that it can provide enhanced services over and above what the NHS funds. This includes continuous funding for a number of services throughout the hospital including the wig fitting service, the art room and complementary therapies.

Pupil Daisy Webb, co-chair of the Fashion Show Committee, added: “I am taking part in the fashion show as it is an amazing opportunity to bring together students from across the Sixth Form and members of the wider school community in support of an incredible charity that does invaluable work locally and further afield.”

From its first show, which raised £2,300, to last year’s impressive £20,260, the King’s School Fashion Show has continued to grow, both in funds raised and in the impact it has within the school and community. Local businesses and individuals have shown immense support, donating a host of raffle prizes to further boost funds. Thanks to these partnerships and the dedication of students and staff, the event has become a Macclesfield highlight each December.

Louise Dawson, community fundraising officer for The Christie Charity, praised the students’ efforts, saying: “The King’s School has shown unwavering dedication to The Christie Charity for over two decades. The passion and creativity of the students in supporting us through their fashion show is truly inspiring. Reaching the £100,000 mark is a phenomenal achievement, and it’s support like this that enables us to continue our vital work in cancer research and care. We are so grateful to everyone at King’s for making this event such a success year after year.”

To support the work of The Christie Charity, please go to Donate today or ring 0161 446 3988.

The Christie Charity supports the work of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust providing enhanced services over and above what the NHS funds. This includes money for care and treatment, research, education, and extra patient services. Gifts from the public make a huge difference to the care and treatment that The Christie is able to provide to patients and their families.