Students at Tauranga Girls' College have helped boost the coffers of the Tauranga SPCA a little more, thanks to their cupcake decorating efforts.

On Tuesday the girls were charged a small fee to decorate cupcakes, which were then judged by Tauranga SPCA cupcake coordinator Hannah Cobb.

Community Service prefect Hunta Davies was one of the event's organisers, and came up with the idea after volunteering with the local SPCA.

'I really love animals – I've been volunteering with the SPCA for seven or eight years,” says Hunta.

'I thought, why not bring the fundraising into school and have a cupcake decorating day. We made the cupcakes and provided icing and decorations, and charged $2.50 to decorate them.”

She estimates there were around 40 students who entered the competition, helping to raise $100. Hannah then judged the best designs, awarding chocolate as prizes to first, second, and third place.

'They were pretty clever – lots of creativity and people having fun with designs,” she says. 'They did an incredible job to raise so much. The money will go towards operational costs at the shelter, such as general feeding and other day-to-day expenses.”

Decorating cupcakes has been a staple of Tauranga SPCA fundraising for several years. Earlier this month they held their annual public cupcake decorating competition, and Hannah says they still have donations pouring in.

'It's been absolutely fantastic. The profit is up in the thousands, so it's done really well. It's neat to see the community getting behind us again.”