PUPILS at an Oxfordshire school are penning a wish list after a cash boost from a masked ball.
Last month Lesley Gascoigne staged a second ball to raise funds in memory of popular teenager Olivia Jefferies, 18, known as Livi, who died in a car crash in Adderbury.
The former Oxford High School student died in 2011 just days before she was due to take her A-Levels.
Friend Mrs Gascoigne, of Ambrosden, near Bicester, organised the ball at the officers’ mess at Bicester Garrison for 130 people and raised £6,222.
A total of £250 has been donated to special needs school Bardwell in Bicester, and the remainder went to Woodeaton Manor School, a secondary school for pupils who have emotional and social difficulties.
Mrs Gascoigne, whose daughter Jess, 16, has autism, and is a pupil at the school, said: “It was a fabulous evening and I was gobsmacked by how much we raised.
“We chose Woodeaton School because my daughter attends this school and Livi was such a help to Jess when she was her babysitter and befriender.
“We don’t mind what the money is used for — the kids are doing suggestions at the moment.”
So far, more than £16,000 has been raised in Miss Jefferies’ memory.
Last year money was also donated to an appeal to build a state-of-the-art communications classroom at Bardwell Special School in Hendon Place, where Miss Jefferies was a volunteer.
Miss Jefferies, who was planning to read French and Arabic at university, died after her Peugeot 107 and a Ford Focus were in a collision.
Her car left the road and crashed into a ditch. At the time her family, from Twyford, near Banbury, paid tribute to their “amazing” daughter.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here