AGENDA
community, and since one of the town’s performance spaces had recently shut down, we argued that the festival could help plug the gap. We also had to show that the
event would be inclusive, so we offered SEN sessions and a ‘quiet zone’ for those who needed it, advertising this on our posters. The festival was completely wheelchair accessible since everything was on the ground floor. We proved our environmental
We did it!
‘Our first Creative Arts Festival was a fundraising success and went down a storm with the community’
W
ith a steel band playing outside the key stage 1 building, a street dance workshop in the hall and
a community art project under way in one of the classrooms, our school was transformed into a hive of artistic activity. In addition to performances and
workshops, pupils were busy finding out about careers in the arts: they asked children’s author Helen Docherty questions, learned about drawing characters from artist Nick Thain and asked Paw Patrol’s Anya Cooke about life as a child actor. Our first ever Creative Arts Festival
was proving to be a big hit. More than 100 families attended the one-day event, not just from our school but from the local area, too. After seeing how popular
the school’s science and engineering fair was, I had wondered if we could do something similar that focused on the arts and suggested the festival. I am
an amateur performer, and the arts have always been a passion of mine. I knew the school was also keen to do more in that area. I work in events, so I offered to
head up a sub-committee of the PTFA to organise the festival. We knew that to attract the wider community, we’d need to run a high-quality event that didn’t feel too much like a school fair, so we needed outside funding. We didn’t have any luck with the
Tesco Community Fund. However, we secured two other grants from South Gloucestershire Council and Thornbury Round Table, a local men’s group that gives to charitable causes. One of the other PTFA
We knew that to attract the wider community, we’d need to run a high-quality
event that didn’t
feel too much like a school fair
parents works in the charity sector, so she knew how to word the grant applications, explaining how the festival would boost the children’s creativity and confidence and raise awareness of the arts. We needed to demonstrate the value the event would bring to the
School Fundraising AUTUMN 2024 13
credentials by using paperless ticketing, recyclable cardboard cups in the café, and pre-loved items where possible, such as our Lego creation station. We also gave Plastic Free Thornbury a stand so they could raise awareness about their work. The grants covered the £1,500
budget we needed, so all the proceeds from ticket sales and the café went straight to the PTFA. It turned out to be a good fundraiser and we made more than £1,900. Afterwards, a lot of parents told me it was the best event they’d ever been to locally, which was a very proud moment. Olivia Riddiford, St Mary’s C of E VA Primary School PTFA, Thornbury, South Gloucestershire (205 pupils)
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
