School ball toasts a decade of fundraising

Pictured from the left are Wendy Whaley, Dave Whaley, managing editor of the Oldham Evening Chronicle, Michael Unsworth, Terri Unsworth, John Stapleton, Lynn Faulds Wood, Chris Redmond, Anne Redmond, head teacher at Kingfisher School, John Abrahams and Debbie Abrahams MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth

A glamorous evening helped to raise £11,800 for Kingfisher Community Special School in Chadderton.

More than 160 guests at the 10th Kingfisher Ball wined and dined in style at the White Hart, Lydgate, to help raise money for a £2.2million hydrotherapy pool at the school.

Special guests included MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth Debbie Abrahams and regular hosts, TV personalities John Stapleton and Lynn Faulds-Wood, who were stepping down from their roles as comperes.

A selection of auction and raffle prizes helped to boost the final fundraising figure for the school’s Big Splash appeal, with prizes including two tickets for any Manchester United game as the special guests of Sir Bobby and Lady Norma Charlton.

Business director Michael Unsworth said: “It’s fantastic to celebrate 10 years of the ball. We’ve raised £90,000 over the past decade and there was another record-breaking amount this year.

“A big thank you must go to everyone who took part, and to John Stapleton and Lynn Faulds Wood for being wonderful hosts over the past nine years. We still have a long way to go to reach our target so we welcome any help.”

The Evening Chronicle produced a special newspaper to celebrate the landmark 10th anniversary of the ball.