IT took five weeks' preparation, 100 student models, 40 helpers, 19 clothes shops, three hat shops, two fashion designers, two shoe shops and an efficient, hard-working committee to mount the two St Patricks Day fashion shows in Jury's Hotel, Cork, which were attended by 1,000 people - and all organised by fifth-year students at St Aloysius Secondary School in the city.

The students, under the guidance of Ed Jordan, director of the Profile Model Agency, formed committees, secured sponsorship, acquired the clothes and booked and decorated the hotel. In addition, each student underwent an intensive certificate course in health and beauty care, as well as professional modelling training.

"For some the project was less about a fashion show than a crash course in growing up," asserts Ailbhe Burke, one of the two secretaries of the fashion show committee. "The process was not without its hiccups. We had only five weeks to prepare, as opposed to last year's eight. We had to top the previous year's widely-acclaimed show. Sponsorship was sparse due to bad planning and just over a week before the show was scheduled to take place, the date had to be changed from March 16th to March 17th - St Patrick's Day."

For six years Jordan's agency has been running the fashion project with a number of Cork second-level schools, involving 15- and 16-year olds, with proceeds going to charity. "The St Aloysius show is not typical in that it is the fifth-year students who took part, as opposed to Transition Year students in other schools," Ailbhe reports. "But the show was not allowed to interfere with class-time - there is enough pressure on teachers to get the course covered without a five-week chunk being taken from their teaching time. The committee members found themselves having to give up most, if not all, of their spare time to the preparation of the event."

Chairpersons of the committee were Gwendolen Morgan and Anne Comber; secretaries Ailbhe Burke and Lisa McElroy; treasurers Elaine Higgins and Julie Dorney; press officers Theresa Sheehan and Claire Keohane; art directors Grace O'Riordan and Marie-Celine O'Reilly and charity liaisons Niamh Daly and Hilary Kenefick.

The successful shows raised £3,000 for GOAL and the Irish Cancer Society.