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Original poster

PTA raffle-all 4 of the Chair’s kids won the top prizes

170 replies

PTAcoincidence · 27/03/2026 20:16

There was a PTA raffle at school this week to win Easter egg baskets. There were 4 huge baskets with around 10-12 eggs in each along with about 30 smaller baskets with a variety of eggs in them. Some had more eggs than others so between 3 and 6 eggs per basket. Lots of prizes, lots of happy kids at the Easter Fayre.
The raffle was drawn out of sight before the Fayre began with the dad of the 4 winning kids removing one huge basket from school before the rest of the baskets were even made up. Eyebrows were raised but you don’t cross the PTA mums I’m told.
Tickets were £2 each and approx 500 tickets purchased in total so a great fundraiser for the PTA. The chocolate was donated by the kids in exchange for wearing their own clothes as is the norm.
It is usually the PTA kids who win competitions, get chosen for the main
parts in plays etc and lots of parents roll their eyes and accept that’s the way it happens.
All 4 kids winning the top 4 prizes though? Surely that’s highly unlikely to be random and takes the biscuit? Or the Easter eggs in this case!
My dc won something and is very happy about winning so it’s not a case of sore loser before anyone accuses me of jealousy.

If this happened at your school would you think it was fixed or just luck?

YANBU = Fixed
YABU = Luck

OP posts:
hcee19 · 28/03/2026 22:57

I would have thought a raffle should be done infront of the audience. Seems a bit off to me it was done when no one was around, suspicious...

DingleDungle · 28/03/2026 22:56

Needmorelego · 28/03/2026 22:51

That's not really how a tombola is meant to be though.
The prizes are generally meant to be of similar value.
At least in all the tombola's I have known.

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They're supposed to be similar, but ours are all from donations, so you would have a bottle of Lambrini next to some quality champagne, or 1kg chocolate bar next to a Freddo.

We don't keep any tickets back though!

Needmorelego · 28/03/2026 22:51

JudgeJ · 28/03/2026 22:31

Surely everyone running the Tombola stall knows to keep the best few tickets in their pocket until half way through!

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That's not really how a tombola is meant to be though.
The prizes are generally meant to be of similar value.
At least in all the tombola's I have known.

Anyahyacinth · 28/03/2026 22:50

Couldn’t it simply be the PTA buy more tickets?

RaraRachael · 28/03/2026 22:46

JudgeJ · 28/03/2026 22:31

Surely everyone running the Tombola stall knows to keep the best few tickets in their pocket until half way through!

Show quote history

Not sure what a tombola is but I'm guessing it's the same as something we have.

I've worked on these loads of times and nobody has ever done this.

Dollymylove · 28/03/2026 22:45

I would be making a complaint. There are rules about holding raffles. Sounds like fraud imho. Don't let them get away with it

Allseeingallknowing · 28/03/2026 22:34

PTAcoincidence · 28/03/2026 22:11

I’ve had a quick nosey at the PTA website and it was no surprise to see that the husband of the chair is the treasurer. He is the one who is credited with setting up the online payment system and the one who took the top prize just after drop off.
I won’t be saying anything about it but it wouldn’t surprise me if someone else does because it was so blatant this time.

Be brave- perhaps join with a few other parents, and report it!

JudgeJ · 28/03/2026 22:34

EstherOnions · 28/03/2026 21:12

I saw a lot of dodgy behaviour during my time on a secondary school PTA committee, but one moment has always stuck with me.
I’d volunteered to do a shift on the bottle tombola at a fete. As I arrived, the chair pulled me aside and pressed something into my hand, saying: “Don’t put this back in until right near the end."
Among the usual assortment of beer and cheap plonk was a high-end whisky gift set, complete with crystal decanter and matching tumblers. She wanted me to hold the winning ticket for it back to encourage people to spend as much as possible trying to win it.
I dropped the ticket straight into the bucket with the others.
She was fixated on being the chair who raised the most money during her tenure - something she’d said more than once. Regulations - and ethics - clearly didn't play a part in that.

If that's the worst you've ever seen you've led a very charmed life! It's certainly not unusual to do that, see my previous post, and I don't feel remotely guilty.

JudgeJ · 28/03/2026 22:31

ICouldHaveCheckedFirst · 28/03/2026 11:46

Sounds off to me.

The worst I've witnessed was on a tombola stall. The top prize was won early, and the winner was persuaded to collect it at the end of the day - so everybody else buying a ticket thought they had a chance of winning the top prize. Oops!

Surely everyone running the Tombola stall knows to keep the best few tickets in their pocket until half way through!

pollymere · 28/03/2026 22:19

The Raffle should have been drawn by different children in front of the whole school and the Chair should've stepped in after two top prizes were won.

You can't help who wins but you can do such draws openly and gracefully decline further prizes.

Original poster
PTAcoincidence · 28/03/2026 22:11

I’ve had a quick nosey at the PTA website and it was no surprise to see that the husband of the chair is the treasurer. He is the one who is credited with setting up the online payment system and the one who took the top prize just after drop off.
I won’t be saying anything about it but it wouldn’t surprise me if someone else does because it was so blatant this time.

OP posts:
Allonthesametrain · 28/03/2026 22:05

Have never heard of a draw not being done in front of the audience. New rule to implement for next time. I would like to think it's not fixed as that's just plain stupid and unfair. Sorry if any mistakes, I can only type into a small box at the top hidden part of my screen.

Original poster
PTAcoincidence · 28/03/2026 21:59

I don’t know how it was all done. We were told the tickets had to be bought online and no physical tickets were given out. The draw took place late morning after PTA dad took off with the biggest basket just after drop off at 8.45am. The kids were told after lunch if they’d won and were sent to the office to collect their prize. All very mysterious. Last time I bought tickets they were paper tickets that were sold on the school gate in the week leading up to the event and just before the event itself. That was a couple of years ago. The raffle still took place behind closed doors. I’ve never seen a raffle be drawn in front of everyone at the event and I’ve had kids at that school for over 10 years in total. Maybe it’s always been suss and I’ve just never noticed or thought about it much.

OP posts:
Boopybop · 28/03/2026 21:54

I was the PTA chair at DDs primary school. I often won a prize at the raffle, through genuine luck and also because I tended to always buy the remaning tickets (often spending £40-£50 on the last tickets available so the school would get good donations). I never once cheated. And the teachers drew the prize. I do wonder whether I was talked about though - but truth is - if you spend £50 on tickets, you’re more likely to win that if you spend £1!

coldham · 28/03/2026 21:42

Did they do the raffle using People's Fundraising if so the draw is done by People's Fundraising themselves electronically.

Mammmmmmmy · 28/03/2026 21:27

Very suspicious.

Also weird that the Chair ended up with 40-48 Easter eggs in her house. Seems very pointless.

Allseeingallknowing · 28/03/2026 21:16

OP- hope you have complained!

EstherOnions · 28/03/2026 21:12

I saw a lot of dodgy behaviour during my time on a secondary school PTA committee, but one moment has always stuck with me.
I’d volunteered to do a shift on the bottle tombola at a fete. As I arrived, the chair pulled me aside and pressed something into my hand, saying: “Don’t put this back in until right near the end."
Among the usual assortment of beer and cheap plonk was a high-end whisky gift set, complete with crystal decanter and matching tumblers. She wanted me to hold the winning ticket for it back to encourage people to spend as much as possible trying to win it.
I dropped the ticket straight into the bucket with the others.
She was fixated on being the chair who raised the most money during her tenure - something she’d said more than once. Regulations - and ethics - clearly didn't play a part in that.

DingleDungle · 28/03/2026 21:11

Maybe help out with the PTA more and you can stop stuff like this.

Grendel7 · 28/03/2026 20:59

PTAcoincidence · 27/03/2026 21:01

I don’t know who drew the raffle because it was conducted behind closed doors and after the dad had made off with the biggest hamper. It’s comic really the sheer cheek of it. The same family won last year too which adds to the suspicion.
The tickets were sold online so we didn’t get physical tickets and can’t be sure how the draw was conducted at all or even if all the bought tickets were put in.
If one or two of the 4 kids had won it wouldn’t be as suspicious. Nor if they’d all won but a variety of prizes. But the 4 top prizes? Nah.

Definitely fixed,two years running as well? Just don't partake again,any of you, and for him to take a basket before the draw? He knew they were going to win it anyway! Thats so unfair.

TestingTestingWonTooFree · 28/03/2026 20:48

Ask the Year 6 teachers if they can do a lesson on probability of winning all the prizes two years in a row?!

SemiRetiredLoveGoddeess · 28/03/2026 20:41

Definitely fixed. I wouldn't buy any more raffle tickets in the future.

EstoyRobandoSuCasa · 28/03/2026 20:35

feralballerina · 28/03/2026 12:38

Is that an actual rule?! I won a couple of decent prizes in the school raffle once, not PTA, but I did buy a fair few tickets as I wanted to support the school - it didn't even cross my mind that I was expected to give one of them up.

Edited
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I don't think this is an actual rule. I once saw a winner do this (he said, "that's me, draw again"). The organiser said, "are you sure?" then, "well, that's very kind of you". Everyone gave the guy a round of applause!

It might depend on whether tickets for the big prizes are drawn first. Surely, no one would be expected to give up a spa weekend because they'd already won a box of Milk Tray?

Poetnojo · 28/03/2026 20:35

Sounds fishy to me.

Alpacajigsaw · 28/03/2026 20:29

DrEmilyCrabtree · 27/03/2026 21:40

I'm a helper on our PTA. More often than not, our main committee members will have a redraw if they win any of the main prizes or if they win more than one prize at all. If they are drawn lower down the list/smaller prize they will take it (they buy tickets same as rest of us) but only one. Nor do they take front row seats or anything else preferential (for them or their kids) - they're usually too busy helping with refreshments etc

Yours seems a bit suspicious to me, and is what gives PTA a bad name.

Mine have left school now but our PTA was the same, I was on it and our kids never got preferential treatment or won prizes. Just because we knew how it would look if they did. As for front row seats not me
as I was invariably running in st the last minute to assembly having just managed to get away from work!

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