The 17 Australian school girls who shaved their heads on national TV.

This morning, something incredible happened.

A group of 17 schoolgirls from Cheltenham Girls High School, in Sydney’s northern suburbs, appeared on Channel Nine’s Mornings program to have their heads shaved live on television, as part of The Leukaemia Foundation’s World’s Greatest Shave.

Check it out:

If you can’t watch the video, here’s how it happened:

Mornings host Sonia Kruger kicked it off:

Everyone was a little worried (about Sonia, not the girl having her head shaved), but it was all okay in the end.

And here are the girls – who range from Year 7 to Year 12 – afterwards.

What an awesome effort.

Well done to all the students from Cheltenham Girls School! #WorldsGreatestShave #Mornings9 pic.twitter.com/7mCkGPZs9x

— MORNINGS (@Mornings9) March 18, 2014

Mamamia spoke to Cheltenham Girls High School Principal Susan Bridge about the students’ participation in the nationwide fundraising event.

The school has taken part in the annual fundraiser for the Leukaemia Foundation before. Last year they raised a total of $53,000, making them the 8th highest fundraising organisation in Australia, up against huge corporations such as Westpac and the NRMA.

However, this is the first time that the school’s event has attracted media attention on such a large scale.

“Originally we were going to do the shaving here at school, but then Channel Nine contacted us,” she said.

Bridge said that the increased publicity had definitely assisted the girls’ fundraising efforts, with the group raising an extra $2000 in the five hours after their ‘shave’ was broadcast.

On their return to class, the girls were celebrated for their commitment to the cause.

“The girls walked into the school hall and it erupted into cheers,” she said.

“They received a heroes’ welcome.”

In addition to the girls featured on Mornings, 10 other students from the school coloured their hair to support the fundraising effort.

Beyond fostering a sense of charity and community spirit, Bridge was aware that the World’s Greatest Shave has further benefits, particularly for the students at her all-girls’ high school.

While teenage boys taking part in the shave are also making an important commitment to the cause, she says that the fundraiser’s motto, “be brave and shave”, is really exemplified when the challenge is undertaken by teenage girls.

“Body image is an incredibly influential part of an adolescent girl’s life.

“These girls feel supported enough in their community to say ‘looks don’t matter’ and that there are more important things in this world.”

You can donate to Cheltenham Girls High School’s World’s Greatest Shave team here.