m SECTION – Strap here i


x , i n c r Events


mix of styles. The standard of the performance was just incredible, and people kept coming up to us afterwards, saying how wonderful it was. The focus of the evening was very


‘Our night at the opera was a magical, mid-winter success’


As the lights went down in the village hall and the soprano began to sing the first aria, the audience fell into awed silence. Fairy lights twinkled around the stage, and guests sat at tables decorated with candles and flowers. The effect was so magical it was spine-tingling. Our winter concert had initially


been planned as an outdoor summer performance but had been rained off. We weren’t sure whether moving it into the local village hall and holding it in November would work, but in the setting of the historic building with its vaulted ceiling and with Christmas just around the corner, it felt even more special. A team of volunteers had just two


hours to get everything ready. We worked like crazy to decorate the hall and tables, set up a bar at the


back of the room and put together beautiful cheese platters for our guests, containing six types of cheese, biscuits, chutneys, pickles and grapes. We are incredibly fortunate to have


two professional opera singers in our parent community, Helen Bailey and Jim Clements, who volunteered their time and talent for free and brought along a pianist and two of Helen’s singing students to accompany them. They performed a mix of opera, musical theatre, popular songs and a few festive numbers, so there was a


It was lovely to do something aimed at the grown-ups for a change


much the music, but we also wanted people to have time to socialise, so we included two intervals during which guests could get their drinks and cheese platters and mingle. It all felt very civilised, and it was lovely to do something aimed at the grown-ups rather than the children for a change. It was one of the most enjoyable and relaxed events for the PTA team since there were no kids running around to worry about. The event attracted many local people with no links to the school, resulting in a packed village hall. We charged £12 per ticket and


£6 for the platters. When we hold events, we always make sure there are optional extras to boost the proceeds, so we also held a raffle. By the end of the night, we had made £1,000 profit. The funds have gone towards installing a new professional kitchen in our school so the children can finally have nutritious meals cooked on-site at lunchtime. Charlotte Ward, chair, Leigh Primary School PTA, Tonbridge (160 pupils)


School Fundraising AUTUMN 2024 27


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