THE sun was shining for the first ever CostelloFest on Wednesday last week.

After school staff, students, and the community joined together for the first in a new kind of fundraising event to raise money in aid of The Costello School.

The idea for a fete/ festival was thought of by the Crossborough Hill school’s house captains, who were thinking of new ways to get funding for the school, with the event itself raising more than £1,300.

The organising of the actual event itself was done by PE teacher and house co-ordinator, Jenny Borthwick.

Miss Borthwick said: “It’s been a massive high. The whole event has been a big success and it is fantastic that so many people have got involved.

“It’s a huge amount to raise, and we’re really pleased, I didn’t expect such a reaction at all.

“We tried to have something available for everybody who was there, and I think that really helped.”

The event saw fundraising stalls like hook-a-duck, a penalty shoot-out challenge and a raffle, as well as live musical performances from both students and staff, which included a performance of It’s Coming Home to prepare people for England’s World Cup semi-final that evening.

The money raised from the event will be put towards building a new water fountain for the school, which will soon be installed.

Miss Borthwick added: “It was definitely worth doing, and I think it will be very beneficial. The stalls were brilliant and it was great to see so many people on the day.

“We’re looking to make next year’s festival bigger and better and hopefully the weather will be just as good. Everyone from the staff and students to the community have been really supportive.

“I want to give a big thank you to everybody, from the students who were running the stalls, the staff who helped to organise it and the community for coming along.”