EVENTS – Late summer fairs


With donkeys and go-karts, no


one wanted our fair to end No sooner had we opened the gates than a crowd came charging towards us. After the upheaval of the previous terms, the children and parents were so excited to have a school fair again. There were go-karts to drive, rats to splat and popcorn to eat. Children could ride donkeys and even, to great delight, soak their teachers! We had really pushed the boat out for our late summer fair. A parent loaned us the go-karts from their business and we hired the donkeys from a local company. We persuaded our head to run the barbecue, and set up an ice-cream stall too. We’d set ourselves an ambitious fundraising


We handled no cash and still


made a splash I was a roaming ticket tout with a difference – at no point in the day did I handle any money. Instead, we used electronic card readers, which helped us all feel safe at our back-to-school fair. The parents stepped up with enthusiasm, and we


used PTA Events to coordinate our volunteers. There was such a happy atmosphere on the day;


everybody was in a great mood. Many parents had come to hear their children sing together for the first time in over a year – their faces said it all! We sold entrance tickets before the event, which


boosted footfall. We also pre-sold £10 ‘bounce bands’ for the bouncy castles to make sure we broke even. The bands gave children unlimited turns (as long as they queued each time). We sold so many bands that we had to end sales early because we were worried that children without one would never get a turn. On the day, we sold £1 paper tokens (bought from Amazon) for stalls, which attendees could buy using one of our three electronic card readers. Each stall had a beautifully decorated box where they could ‘spend’ their tokens, removing the need for contact and lots of spare change. The kids loved it and rushed into the fair clutching rolls of tokens ready to spend. We also supplied large bottles of hand sanitiser at every stand. Because the tickets had no value outside the fair,


we sold out of everything. As soon as we announced the fair was due to close, there was a mad scurry as people rushed to spend their remaining tokens. This event was only a third of the size of our usual summer fairs, but we were delighted to have made £6,500 after expenses. We’re optimistic about organising another cashless fair in the summer. Rebecca Geitgey, chair, Parent Staff Association, Queen’s C of E Primary School, Kew, London (400 pupils).


pta.co.uk SPRING 2022 49


target of £10,000 for the year to finance a first round of playground renovations, including a new climbing frame that the children chose themselves. We’d already raised nearly £8,000 from a virtual hot-air balloon race and some raffles, but we were pinning our hopes on the fair to reach the goal. We needn’t have worried – the fair raised over £3,000. The kids absolutely loved the event. No one


wanted the bouncy castle to be let down or the donkeys to go home. Some of the older children wrote positive stories about their day in the school newsletter. (If you can get Year 6 on board, you know you’ve cracked it.) Many delighted parents took to Facebook to share their thanks. We provided plenty of hand sanitisers and held the entire event outdoors to ensure people could enjoy the day sensibly. We were grateful to all the parents and teachers who helped out, ran the stalls and came along. Without their support, our summer fair wouldn’t have been possible and we wouldn’t have reached our fundraising target. Helen, Alex, Gillian, Joanne, Kelly and Bev, St Stephens RC Primary School PTA, Droylsden, Greater Manchester (420 pupils)


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