A silly way to raise money for a serious cause in 1977

By The Newsroom
Published 11th Dec 2015, 07:00 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 05:47 BST
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They may have been larking around in this picture but these students were preparing for a rather serious project.

The year was 1977 and the teenagers were organising Crawley Technical College’s festival week, to raise money for the Mid Sussex Society for the Mentally Handicapped.

According to a report in the Crawley and Disctrict Observer, they had managed to book a rather successful pop group to perform – The Stranglers.

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The band was on the cusp of national success and their hit No More Heroes would reach No 8 in the UK charts that September.

Such is the nature of pop success – one week you’re playing to a few hundred people in Crawley Technical College, the next you’re heard by millions watching Top of the Pops.

As for the students’ fundraising efforts, they also organised a 15-mile inter-school sponsored walk as well as a revue packed with sketches, music and general silliness.

The revue was produced by Ewa Korolewicz and Jim Lines, backed up by a dozen fellow students, lecturer Lenny Grugeon and student adviser John Kendall.

Do you recognise any of the students in this photo?