Alternative to 14 bouquets please!

[EustaciaVye01]

Hi,
Im a teacher at a secondary school in a deprived area. 14 of my students (females) have been selected for the Brilliant Club. Its to raise aspirations for bright students from low socio economic households. They have all done really well and will be having a graduation ceremony at Cambridge.
I wanted to buy them all a bouquet but even a £5 one will cost £70!

Any ideas on what to get them? I am planning to take photos using the school camera and will print these out for the girls.

Have you considered asking any local shops/ supermarkets / gardening clubs/ WI if they could help out?

Ask your PTA & school for funds towards this.

@NewHeaven its really difficult to get anything from the school. For edible treats for my intervention students and crafts for lunchtime club I just buy my own..

You have to put a postal order for any item you want to buy and it goes to line manager, finance etc. Its so long winded!

Thank you for all the messages. Will look into the local florist and PTA

Buy them a pen and little notebook each. Tell them these are symbols of brilliance. They need no battery, they don't die if they get coffee spilled on them. They are very light yo carry, so they can keep them in a pocket and write down every time they have an idea they want to remember.

Try Aldi, they have a fantastic social media account and sponsor fun/noticeable events such as this, it looks good for them. £70 is a drop in the ocean for them. Try tweeting them in a message. Also, co-op often have a local officer/community worker who can assist with good causes like this. The big supermarkets can off-set the cost better than your local florist

Could you make a decorated flower like cup cake put on a stick and wrap in tissue and cellophane like you would a single rose ?

What is your budget? Are you anywhere near an Accessorize? It might sound mad but they have 70% off some of their sale items now and some of their items are down to £2.50/£3.00. This includes things like necklaces. It would still be quite expensive overall but cheaper and longer lasting than the flowers. Might any of your colleagues be able to support you in doing this?

How about a single rose each? You can buy a bunch in supermarket and give one each.

Would any of your colleagues chip in? I would if it was my students

Try a local supermarket particularly if there is one close to the school. They will have a community champion who is tasked with things like this and they may donate some. They usually post on their socials about this sort of thing.

I like the pen and pencil idea and a quote from you on the front- much better than a flower. Acknowledge their brain is their most powerful tool in their body.

A POSTAL ORDER???

These still exist?

That's WILD

You sound lovely OP BTW

@BookGoblin

I recently had to get a new photo card driving licence as they have to be renewed every ten years.

The DVLA in Swansea is open to the public so I drove there (Half hour drive) and had my photo done in the booth and reception gave me a form.

I couldn't pay her though as they do not accept any cards or cash and only accept postal orders!

I had to go and find a post office and then return with the form.

Bizarre in this day and age.

I'm sure I saw a big sign outside a Tesco with a photo of a male member of staff and introducing him as the co ordinater doe charity requests.

Ask your local store.

Wow!

I'd buy them a journal each, talk to your local Tesco (other supermarkets might do it too) community champion and see if they can help. And/or if it's soon it's daffodil season which are cheap, I bought a vase for £1 recently that fits the £1 daffs

A card or postcard with a personal message would do the job. Flowers are lovely but they don't last.

Or alternatively, a pin with a flower? Not sure that'll be any cheaper though.

If you are on Facebook local Facebook groups are really good for this kind of thing, often local businesses are happy to help.

You can get personalised pens quite cheaply on eBay/amazon. I did it for colleagues at work, you can put a (short!) individual message on each one.

They do. I submit micro accounts to companies house on behalf of a CIC and you have to pay by cheque or postal order. I found it really interesting that you can't buy one unless you use cash or a debit card.

But I think in this case the OP may have meant to write purchase order.

Op, you sound lovely. But i just wanted to ask, why are they all females? Do the boys get this too?

I think OP means purchase order.

I second the suggestions of asking a big supermarket, I asked the manager in our Sainsbury's for some packs of collectible cards for our school fair and he handed me a big boxful once.(The ones they gave out at the till with purchases)

How about a single flower for each.
Gerberas, Roses, Day Lilies, Irises, Gladiolis.
Ask the florist for the best display flower of the season - or mix it up a bit and have a varity..

Make a single paper flower.

A dried flower.

A Kale.

A silk flower from an haerdashery.

An edible cup cake flower in a box.

I’d agree with PP about approaching local supermarkets. It’s the sort of thing Tesco or the Co-op would donate to and then ping up on social media. I would absolutely suggest to them notebook/ pen idea.