The Cathedral, Chapter House and school foyer were transformed as part of the Big City Make Off today in order to raise funds for Rough edges, a community organisation that seeks to support people experiencing homelessness and marginalisation.
Students from each of the eight house groups created their own lolly stands, replete with carefully chosen themes, decorations, and costumes.
In previous years the school has hosted the Big City Bake Off but in order to practice safe hygiene, the familiar sight of frosted cupcakes were replaced with carefully crafted lolly bags.
Winchester’s Wild West themed stall was ultimately awarded the top prize: Big City Make Off champions for 2021. According to judges chaplain Rev Tubman, Head of Visual Arts Mrs Cheryl O’Mara, and Head of Innovation and Enterprise Ms Pip Currey, Winchester’s environmentally friendly approach was a stand-out.
Winchester’s stall included a wagon wheel, saddle, home-made cactuses and crates of TNT – students promised that the ammunition wasn’t live. Many of these items were sourced from student’s garages and repurposed for the event.
“We’ve used recycled materials in order to reduce our impact on the environment,” said Winchester House Captain Imogen Este. We used a lot of cardboard and recycled rope. Most of our props were made from old boxes that were going to be thrown out.”
The competition was a wonderful opportunity for students to work together and get creative, something Imogen appreciated, “We’ve pulled this together and it’s been really nice to see everyone get involved! I’ve made friends from other year groups, people I didn’t even know before.”
The event also gave students an opportunity to raise funds for an important cause. Each house group was set a target of $500 with all funds raised going towards Rough Edges.
Ryan Naoum, staff team leader at Rough Edges, was present for the celebrations and spoke to staff and students about the support that Rough Edges gives homeless people within the community.
“I’m so blown away by the enthusiasm of the students,” he said. “The backing that we’ve had from St Andrew’s has enabled us to start new things, photography programs and cooking classes – they were all made possible by St Andrew’s.”
“I think it’s so important to educate students about not for profit action, community action, and standing up for those of us who have been marginalised.”
Ethan Crosweller
