A VIP night at The Birmingham Rep hosted by Old Hill born actress Josie Lawrence has raised around £3,500 for a charity appeal.

Josie, a patron of Clent's Sunfield School, came up with the idea for a champagne reception at the Birmingham theatre - where she has been starring in the title role in Tom Stoppard's spy thriller Hapgood.

The 48-year-old stage and TV star and fellow cast members mingled with theatre-goers after the curtain went down on their show on Monday April 21.

All money raised from ticket sales from the bash were donated to the school's campaign to raise £3.5million to build state-of-the-art classrooms for its severely disabled students. The Rep also donated profits from house ticket sales from the evening.

Josie told the News: "It went really well, everybody seemed to really enjoy it."

Josie will also be backing Sunfield's forthcoming sunshine week in June, throughout which people are being encouraged to wear yellow to show their support for the school.

She added: "I'll be urging everyone to wear yellow, it's scientifically proven to cheer you up."

Elizabeth Wood, Sunfield spokeswoman, said: "Josie has been a tremendous support and was the mastermind behind the reception.

"We're very grateful to her and The Rep."

Anyone wishing to donate or interested in holding a fundraiser for Sunfield can call the appeals department on 01562 882253 email appeals@sunfield.worcs.sch.uk.uk or go to www.justgiving.com/sunfieldappeal.