Tim Watson, history teacher at Abbotsleigh on Sydney's North Shore, has had a very expensive haircut - $4500 to be precise.

After about a year of sporting shoulder-length dreadlocks, Tim offered his hair to raise money for the school's 2004 charity.

This year, under the leadership of service prefect Hannah Ware, the girls of Abbotsleigh have been raising money for Dr Catherine Hamlin's Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Their service has seen them knit about 5000 squares to be made into shawls, raise awareness of the work of the Fistula Hospital and also raise money towards the building of field hospital/clinics in rural Ethiopia.

The girls had raised $20,000 leading up to the final fundraiser of the year, an African Idol talent quest. The pinnacle of the event was the shaving of Tim Watson's head by Headmistress Mrs Judith Wheeldon. In the hair raising, money raising event about $4500 was raised, bringing the total to about $25000 for the Fistula Hospital's building program

For more information on the Fistula Hospital visit the Australian website.