Out of this World Fundraising Ball

Major event held on Saturday January 19th 2019.

'Out of this World' fundraising ball in the Dave Ferguson Hall, Beau Sejour.

A huge thank you to everyone who supported The Ladies’ College and attended the recent Out of this World Fundraising Ball. It was a spectacular evening, full of fun, entertainment and good company.

With over 350 guests attending – parents, alumnae, Governors, staff, friends of the College and invited guests – the Dave Ferguson Hall at Beau Sejour was full and everyone enjoyed the tasty winter menu supplied by Sueco. The hall was decorated with planets of different sizes hanging from the rafters, with the addition of the obligatory disco balls and lighting show, which created a wonderful space themed room. The tables were simply decorated with LED wine coolers, which doubled up to hold the raffle tickets. Lighting and production was supplied by Joys Production Services, who kept the evening running smoothly, starting with the fabulous entrance feature space music 'mashup' and the screening of the new College film and ending with their support in the production of music supplied by local guest band, The Last of the Light Brigade, who played to a full dance floor with popular crowd pleasing tracks and who provided a perfect end to the event.

The master of ceremonies was Mr Peter Fotheringham, Head of Economics and Business Studies at the College, who confidently cruised through the evening, ensuring that everything went to plan and everyone had a good time. The guest performer was Empress Stah, who is an international hoop and trapeze artist, who made her debut visit to Guernsey that weekend. We were delighted she was able to join us and contribute to such a special evening. Other entertainment was performed by students from both The Ladies’ College and Elizabeth College showcasing the song "Feed Me" from The Shop of Horrors and The Ladies' College Battle of the Bands entry, 'Afterlife', debuted their set. (This group went on to win Battle of the Bands 2019. Congratulations!) The range of talent at College is astounding, as is each student’s motivation, attitude, sense of fun and bravery to perform to such a large audience. We are very proud of and grateful to all the performers and students who gave up their time to be part of the Ball.

We elected not to hold an auction at this event, instead we had very generous raffle donations from many local companies, parents and individuals. In addition to this, we opened the proceedings with a take on the game, Kings and Queens, calling it instead 'Spaceships and Aliens". The winner of this won a Porsche driving track day courtesy of Jacksons CI who kindly donated this prize.

The event raised an amazing £14,000, which will be given to the College “A Gift for Learning” fund and this year's chosen charity, Schools4Freedom. A presentation about this charity was made on the evening by Sixth Form Charities’ Senior Prefect, Willow, and the College will be continuing to raise funds for this cause throughout the year.

The main event was sponsored by Specsavers, and the welcome drinks were sponsored by Healthspan. Thank you to both these local companies for their continued support of the College and the events we organise for our College community. The organising committee was headed up by Anastasia Page, Head of Development & External Relations at the College and she was assisted by members of the Senior School and Melrose PTAs and The Ladies' College Guild to ensure it was a whole college event.

Thank you to everyone who played a part in this event – look out for the next one to celebrate the College’s 150^th birthday!