TWO organisers of a 1970s inspired school reunion have made an emotional donation to the Sobell House hospice, Oxford.

Former classmates Lorraine Ludbrook and Agatha Harris handed £700 to the hospice after asking their old school pals for donations at a recent reunion event.

The friends, who went to Redefield Secondary School, in Cuddesdon Way, Blackbird Leys, organised the reunion to mark the year they and their classmates turned 50. More than 100 people attended the event at the Holy Family Church in Blackbird Leys on April 26.

Entrance fees and a charity raffle raised the three figure sum for the Headington hospice, which was chosen by Ms Ludbrook, Mrs Harris and fellow-organiser Dolcie Obhiozele because of the close personal ties it held for them.

Ms Ludbrook, 49, from Moorbank, Blackbird Leys, had seen her granddad, uncle and several friends spend their final days there.

The hairdresser has also created wigs for women patients there who lost their hair through chemotherapy.

She said: "It is a really impressive total. We raised £244 from the raffle and I thought that was really good.

"I chose the charity because I have had family members and friends that have died there.

"It is very close to my heart. They are brilliant in the work they do. I feel proud and emotional because it is good to put something back. It has made me think about my family members, so it is good to do something for the hospice."

Ms Ludbrook added: "The reunion was lovely. Everyone was having so much fun.

"We did not recognise a lot of them, so it was a good job we decided to make them name tags.

"The men have changed more than the ladies have.

"We had a good dance, and we are planning to do another reunion - a bigger and better one."

Mrs Harris, 49, who was known as Agatha St Hilaire while at the school, said: "The reunion was absolutely fantastic. It was a lovely atmosphere.

"It is important that we keep raising money for things like this."

Kevin Game, a fundraiser for the Sobell House Hospice Charity, said: "It's especially pleasing to see members of our community reuniting and are helping to support the very community they grew up in."

An accordian previously owned by Ms Ludbrook's uncle, who was a patient at Sobell House, has also been donated to the hospice.