Students in Woodstock are raising money to organise a conference about how music, fashion and sport affect society.

For the past seven years, pupils at The Marlborough School have organised an annual conference on a subject or issue that is external to the school.

Fiona Bradley, 15, of Troy Lane, Kirtlington, said: "We chose to the theme of how music, fashion and sport affects society because we wanted something that everyone would have an interest in."

The conference is intended to give Year 11 pupils some practical experience of staging an educational event, from booking a venue to inviting speakers.

It was borne out of teachers' frustration with the straitjacket of the National Curriculum, which they believed was stifling initiative and creativity.

Planning for the conference begins when pupils are still in Year 10. They have to choose a conference theme and appoint a keynote speaker -- past speakers have included BBC economics editor Peter Jay, Oxford University education professor Richard Pring, and Oxford Mail editor Jim McClure.

After the speaker has introduced the topic, the audience of about 150 Year 11 pupils takes part in a series of workshops, chaired by an invited guest, to examine different aspects of the subject.

A plenary session is then held for groups of pupils in the different workshops to give a presentation of what theire discussions.

Last year, workshops on the media included Fox FM's Alex Heinman looking behind the scenes of a radio station, BBC News' David Shukman looking at the presentation of overseas news, and Central TV's Wesley Smith and Anne Dawson on using a variety of sources to produce written material.

The conference is designed to form part of the students' lessons in personal, social and health education, as part of the Citizenship curriculum.

Headteacher Edward McConnell said: "Its purpose is to enrich young people's knowledge of the way society works and to enhance their understanding of their ability to influence events."

This year, 10 pupils -- Leanne Kinnie, Kate Symcox, Sophie Cullen, Peggy Webster, Laura Baker, Fiona Bradley, Alice Foulsham, Krystyna Gorgolewska, Tom Wilson and Michael Phipps -- plan to stage the conference at the Culham Conference Centre, near Abingdon, on Monday, November 17.

The team needs to raise £4,000 to cover the costs of hiring the conference centre, and transporting the students and speakers to and from the event.

For more details about the event or to make offers of sponsorship, call Carol Crow on 01993 811431.