Fashion event at Banbury's college

Banbury and Bicester College will be opening the doors to its Broughton Road campus tomorrow, Thursday, November 21 for the Winter Sparkle Fashion Show.

The fashion show is suitable for all ages and will feature a catwalk show. There will be two shows during the evening, the first starting at 7pm with doors opening at 6pm, the second at 8pm with doors opening at 7.15pm.

Prior to each show to attendees will have the opportunity to browse items, buy raffle tickets and enjoy canapé refreshments made by catering students.

Cherida Plumb, community and events fundraising manager for Katharine House Hospice, said: “We are really pleased to be working in partnership with Banbury and Bicester College to organise this fabulous event.

"It’s a great way of bringing together educators, the talent of the future, and a much-loved community hospice, raising awareness of the Katharine House Hospice shops and the type of fabulous items they have on offer.

“The team have enjoyed working with the college especially upcycling clothes donated to our seven shops and we’re all very excited to see the results.”

The evening will showcase the variety of clothing and accessories available at Katharine House Hospice shops alongside the upcycling talents of Banbury and Bicester College students.

Nina Baker, community and events fundraising officer for Katharine House Hospice, said: "The show will host an array of clothing designs and glitzy items, typical of the type of clothes available in your local Katharine House Hospice shops, to give you inspiration and clothing ideas for outfits for the festive season.

“There will be something for everyone on the catwalk.”

The collections being modelled will be available for purchase at the end of each show.

Nancy Buckley, director of career pathways at Activate Learning, said: “We are really happy to be opening our doors to the local community for this amazing cause.

“Activate Learning values being part of the communities of Oxfordshire and we are delighted that our students are able to lend the skills they are learning at Banbury and Bicester College to this worthwhile project.

She added: “I hope that as many people as possible turn out on the night to make it a huge success.”

Katharine House relies on support in the community for three-quarters of its funding, and last year, just 24 per cent of the hospice’s costs were covered by government funding.

Chris Higgins, marketing and communications manager at Katharine House Hospice, said: “We are hugely grateful to Activate Learning and Banbury and Bicester College for the fantastic support they are giving to the hospice. Without our supporters, Katharine House simply wouldn’t be able to provide care to more than 800 people every year.

“These are challenging times for Katharine House, and this year we face a budgeted deficit of £435,000 due to rising healthcare costs and static government funding.

"The demand for our services is also increasing. If we cannot close the deficit, we will face some very difficult decisions about the services and amount of support we can offer in the future.”

Tickets are available at £5.00 for concessions and students (with proof of status) and £10.00 for general admission and include a free glass of fizz or suitable soft drink alternative on arrival.

All proceeds from ticket sales will go to Katherine House Hospice.

Visit www.khh.org.uk/fashion for more information and to purchase tickets for the first or second showing.