THIS year’s Dorchester Festival raised more than £11,000 for Oxfordshire childrens’ bereavement charity SeeSaw.

The 10-day music and drama festival raised a record £20,000 in total. Over half will go to the Headington based grief support service SeeSaw, with the remainder going towards the upkeep of Dorchester Abbey.

SeeSaw, in Merewood Avenue, helps children and their families both before and after they lose a loved one, by working with schools and setting up support networks. Director Rosie Nicol-Harper, said the £11,300 would go towards the charity’s dedicated face-to-face support service, and help fund information and advice.

She added: “Frankly we are completely overwhelmed by the amount raised by the people of Dorchester and the visitors to the Dorchester Festival.

“We know that over 150 local people worked very hard to raise this money, and a special mention should go to the organiser, Stephanie Forman, who we saw working tirelessly throughout the festival to make it a spectacular event for everybody.”

This year’s festival included a full production of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, above, an interactive murder mystery and a ballet class, inset.

Mrs Forman said the committee chose SeeSaw because it had supported the young daughter of a committee member shortly after her mother’s death in 2007.

She added: “We also chose a charity which is family based and local because it’s a festival which focuses on family. We didn’t expect to make that much this year because of the credit crunch, but we managed to double last year’s figures so we are really happy.”