A Christmas fayre organised as an enterprise project by Year 11 students at Ysgol Treffynnon has raised hundreds of pounds for a charity that has helped support one of their classmates.

The Holywell students decided to hold a Christmas fayre for the 'Participating in an Enterprise Activity' module of Agored Cymru's Programme of Study for Year 11's work related education. The modular course is externally accredited, and students gain the equivalent of two B grades at GCSE.

A core organising committee planned the project, creating a total of eight stalls and activities for the event with everything from a Santa shoot out, cake sale and raffle to a lucky dip, hot chocolate cones and a staff cake auction.

Despite several year groups missing from school on the day of the fayre due to Covid-19, the students rose to the challenge and raised an impressive £588 for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, a charity which has helped a fellow student who has the disease.

Chloe Hughes, head student, said: "I really enjoyed participating in the Christmas Fayre, seeing how many children enjoyed it and how willing they were to donate to the charity."

The students have received letters of commendation from John Weir, headteacher for going 'above and beyond' to make the event a success.

Head student, James Baker, worked tirelessly during the planning phase but really made a big difference with promoting the fair, going around to each form informing students and teachers of the upcoming charity event, distributing flyers and hanging up posters around the school to gain as much participation as possible. On the day of the event he dressed as Santa, and had photos taken with students helping to create interest in the Santa Shoot Out competition, which was his idea.

Chloe Hughes was the chairperson for the project meetings, ensuring everyone in the team was involved by encouraging them to give their ideas and to listen to other members of the group. She also spoke to family and friends outside of school to canvas support; her Aunty Pauline approached her boss at Robert News Agents, and they subsequently donated a large amount of sweets which generated a significant profit for the charity. Chloe also organised the raffle and promoted the event around the school.

Karmen Pataki and her mum, Rita Jonas, baked almost 200 cup cakes, plus Christmas tree cakes and three large sponge cakes which helped raised considerable funds from both cake sales and the staff cake auction.

Conor Crisp produced quality, computer generated promotional flyers and pricing lists and his grandmother kindly donated beautifully knitted items to help with the fundraising efforts.

Jay Mogan was responsible for taking the ideas of the group and producing the Risk Assessment for the project. He was particularly helpful in guiding the group to make the right choices regarding profit margins, ensuring the activities generated as much revenue as possible for the charity.

Charlotte Payne's professional manner in her role as the meeting secretary, gained her the respect of the rest of the group. She made a significant contribution towards the very successful lucky dip stall, as well as being part of the team making the hot chocolate cones and sweet cones.

Christine Wineyard, assistant headteacher, said: "The students have worked incredibly hard over the last few months preparing for this Enterprise event. Even though it has been a challenge, with Covid and them studying for their GCSEs, they have been extremely professional and dedicated and I couldn't be prouder of them. They are fantastic role models for younger students at the school."

Michelle Reid, teaching assistant, said: "They pulled together as a team and demonstrated that although there were only five of them present on the day, what they achieved was amazing. They are a wonderful group of young people, and it has been a pleasure to work alongside them on this Enterprise challenge."

Rachael Taylor, community fundraiser from the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, said: "We cannot thank the students enough for their amazing fundraising and I hope everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day.

"Events from supporters like yourselves are invaluable to us here at the Trust and, without these, we would not be able to continue researching for, campaigning for, and supporting the 10,800+ people in the UK living with cystic fibrosis.

"An amount of £550 could contribute to life-changing research into CF, by providing five days funding for a PhD student in a research project."