For those of you who are new to GKT, ‘RAG’ stands for ‘Raising and Giving’. Students from the GKT schools have a formidable fundraising reputation- GKT RAG is one of the most successful RAG weeks in the country. Each year a staggering £100,000 is raised during RAG week for good causes associated with our hospitals and the local community.

RAG week is also a testament to the big-heartedness of GKT students, when hundreds brave the cold mornings, dressed in surgeons’ gowns and playful nurses’ uniforms to collect for our charities, ensuring GKT RAG goes form strength to strength. Money is raised through street collections all over London, including mainline railway and underground stations, and the more people we have running around the city in deviant fancy dress, the more cash we can raise.

The RAG spirit is easy to get into, but sometimes it can be quite a challenge to sustain energy levels and keep tiredness at bay! After a hard day’s collecting, there are themed events every night of the week, so you can bop and boogie to your heart’s content! Get your school uniforms, funky wigs, and PVC gear ready- the RAG committee are trying hard to make sure that there’s something for everyone. A wise man once said that RAG is like Freshers’ week, but better because you already know everyone!

RAG week also has some of its own rather unique traditions, including the legendary Endurance (not for the faint-stomached), the RAG raid to some unsuspecting town in the sticks, the bed push from Tommy’s to Guy’s, and sponsored kidnapping by the Hit and Tit squads. To top it all off there’s a fabulous RAG Ball, held at a lavish venue, to celebrate GKT RAG in unsurpassed style, and to award the extraordinary raggers with prizes, such as Raggiest Fresher, Most Raised, and many more! This is followed by a very long sleep to make up for all that lost shuteye!

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is the upkeep of an age-old tradition, to drink the bar dry, and to do your utmost to raise the biggest wads of cash for those less fortunate than ourselves.

The best way to be kept informed of the latest RAG developments is to join the RAG 2010 facebook group by clicking here