WHEN Harrogate High School students set themselves a fundraising target for The Wheelchair Foundation, they thought £1,000 was an achievable amount.

Little did they know that their Charity Week was to raise over £6,000 for the good cause.

The event was the brainchild of three Sixth Form students - Vicki Zealand, Jade Ward and Sophie Thomas - who took part in a Rotary Youth Leadership course where they learnt about The Wheelchair Foundation, which provides wheelchairs for use by disabled children and adults in Third World countries.

Determined to involve the whole school in their project, they enlisted the help of their fellow sixth formers and organised Charity Week, and managed to collect £6,500.

The highlights of their fundraising week, supported by the school as well as a host of local businesses, included a fashion show, with staff and student models strutting their stuff to music from the last three decades, and a sponsored gunge the teacher spectacular.

The UK President of The Wheelchair Foundation, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough Phil Willis and members of Harrogate Rotary Club also helped out by taking part in a quiz night, where the final fundraising total raised was revealed to the audience.

Vicki, Jade and Sophie said: "We were staggered by the amount people contributed to the cause, and it will enable well over a hundred wheelchairs to be provided for disabled children and adults in developing countries.

"However, as the Rotary Youth Leadership course taught us, it's all about teamwork and making the most of the expertise, enthusiasm and goodwill of everyone who has got involved."