King’s Ely’s Osfest and Colour Run swell charities’ coffers by over £2,000

Fun and frolics – with a large splattering of powder paint – have raised more than £2,000 for King’s Ely’s two school charities.

Hundreds of students, staff, families and friends of King’s Ely came together on New Field for Osfest – an annual summer fete style fundraising event organised by the boys in Osmond House and their Housemaster, Paul Lott.

Each Osmond House student, also known as ‘Osmen’, is tasked with running a stall or activity at the extravaganza and as ever, there were a whole host of attractions on offer including bouncy castles, tug-of-war competitions, a coconut shy, sports challenges, ‘sponge the teacher’, face painting, music, raffles and food galore.

The weather may not have been as kind as in previous years, but Osfest 2019 raised a record-breaking £1,900, which will be split equally between King’s Ely’s two charities this year – Cancer Research UK and the Tsavo Conservation Group.

This year, for the first ever time, Osfest was followed by something quite spectacular – the Ely Colour Run! More than 200 people put their best foot forward in the inaugural event, which was organised by the girls in Torfrida House and their Housemistress, Caroline Skeels.

Pupils from Year 1 right the way through to Year 13 took part, as did parents, grandparents, teachers, members of the Senior Leadership Team, and friends of the school. The Colour Run was not only a huge amount of fun and extremely messy, but it also raised a further £600 for Cancer Research UK and the Tsavo Conservation Group. Plans for Ely Colour Run 2020 are already underway.

Principal of King’s Ely, Sue Freestone, said: “These events represented the spirit of King’s Ely at its most abundant. The sense of community and shared purpose was tangible and it’s great to see our students working so hard in support of worthy causes.”