A NEW Women’s Institute branch in Oxford may have appointed the youngest president in the county.

The stereotypical image of the WI is of the more mature lady, but the Leys WI group, which is only two months old, has elected mother-of-two Rachel Fisher, who is just 25, to the post.

WI advisor Barbara Gray said she believed Mrs Fisher was the youngest president across the county’s 145 groups.

Mrs Gray, a WI member since 1964, added: “It just shows yet again what we have been saying for years – WI is not just for old retired people.”

The Leys group, which meets at the Clockhouse Community Centre, in Long Ground, Greater Leys, currently has 16 members but another 10 are considering joining.

Mrs Fisher said: “I want to have a massive group. I want it to be fun and exciting – I love having a laugh.

“It is just great getting a group of women together where you can have a good chinwag.

“People think the WI is all ‘jam and Jerusalem’, but you don’t have to sing, it is not just old people and you don’t have to bake cakes.”

Mrs Fisher said her committee would be planning charity fundraising activities and ‘knit and natter’ evenings.

She also wants the group to host a pampering event for local women.

Mother-of-one Louise Ptaszek, 36, of Frys Hill, Greater Leys, is a committee member.

She said: “I want to make new friends and learn new skills.

“The meetings are really good fun. They are really chatty and friendly.

“I think it is a good thing to bring the WI into more built-up areas. This will bring people from the estate together.”

The WI turned 90 this year, and the Oxfordshire Federation of Women’s Institutes has more than 4,500 members.

A spokesman for the National Federation of Women’s Institutes said she knew of one president aged 18 at Goldsmiths College, London.

l WI membership costs £29 per year, which covers the cost of monthly meetings.

To find out more about joining, call Mrs Gray on 01865 514239.

ghamilton@oxfordmail.co.uk