school are charging £43 for one ticket to a summer ball. Taking the mickey?

[avenanap]

Starts at 7:30, ends a 1am, starter, main (chicken or vegies), desert (fruit), coffee and dj. I think this is way too much. Would you fork out and go or give it a miss?

But seriously aveanap, they're a profit making business! What do you expect?

You'd have get professional lighting in there. Or wear a tiara with a headlamp.

There's usually a back entrance if you want to try to sneak in without paying

I expect them not to take the piss by hiring the most expensive place they can get so they can get their picture in the newspaper and expecting parents to foot the bill. Am I being unreasonable?

I might go and work behind the bar

They are not a proft making business!

They are a Charity. Wrongly so, but a charity nevertheless

don't they usually have 6th formers working behind the bar. Then they sneak a few crates away at the end of the evening and end up off their faces ready for Speech Day!!

Haaa. The principle behind this is so wrong!

The Summer Ball is a way for rich families to contribute more than poor families. It's really nothing to get worked up about. If you like balls, then go; if you don't, then stay in and watch Casualty.

Don't expect a catered meal plus entertainment (and more) to cost the same as a packet of chicken breasts from Sainsbury's, though.

Local private school down the road made £30,000 at their quiz night the other night...get a load of that then. lords, ladies and marquises all over the place I expect.

avenanap, I don't think the priciple behind this ball is any more wrong than the principle behind private education.

You don't want to fork out, so don't go. If you really wanted to go, you would puy up. It is a bit expensive, but no more so than any other such night out.

It alianates the poorer parents? Private schools alianate poorer parents full stop.

Ours is £60 a head. Wouldn't bother but got strong-armed into it.

Some people will pay hundreds if not thousands for the raffle tickets, avenanap. Surely you know the routine?

No-one will think any the worse of you if you chose not to go.

I'd cry at £60 a head. That's shocking. I'm not going, it's all pomp and show and I really can't be bothered with that. Thanks ladies

Quattrocento - so true. We go to ones, via DH's work, with auctions and the money spent out - always for charity BTW - is immense. DH and I spend the whole night sat on our hands daring not to move, just in case! There are huge amounts of money spnt on some of these nights.

On the other hand, the school one last week wasn't like that - phew!

£60 a head for the summer ball at a state primary, btw.

I haven't read the whole thread, but don't think the ticket price is unreasonable. If you have ever organised a Ball, it costs a lot of money to hire the marquee, band etc, and obviously food on top of that. Not much (if any) of that money will be profit for the school, hence why there may be raffles etc when you get there. If you have a good social crowd going together, I'm sure you would have a great time, but if you're not keen or don't want to spend that much money, then just give it a miss!

Am that that was at a state primary edam. There was muttering at ours when they put the price of a disco ticket up to £3 this time - it was £2 previously so quite a steep hike. I, of course, didn't read the letter and blithely wrote a cheque for £8 for 4 tickets and had the secretary on the phone to me.

I'm on the PTA. We organise a ball (in a marquee, ahem) and charge 50 a head. Of course the ticket price is far in excess of the cost of the meal+entertainment - it's a fundraiser. Duh.
There aren't many chances to get dressed up the nines these days; it's just a bit of harmless fun. The parents must agree because it's always a sell-out.

Ours is £30. Last year it was a bit less but tbh I don?t mind paying more. It was a fab night out and a really good fund-raiser. A group of us took a table and had such a good time.

I don?t go out much so it was a bit of a treat to dress up and put on high heels and dance.

£43 is quite a bit isn?t it. It?s whether you can afford it ? if it?s too much then don?t go but I don?t think it?s that bad.

Hasten to add our school ball is deffo not in the school hall (lol at £43 a head for that!)

BTw our ball has a limit of 120 people so there's no way everyone could go even if they wanted to (school has 200+ pupils).

There?s absolutely no pressure on parents to go, in fact if you think that 120 is 60 couples, factor in half a dozen teachers that?s more like 50 couples, so actually most parents don?t go.

Our last year was £65 per head; £650 for a table of ten i.e. no discount and it sold out - 300 tickets - in three weeks.

The marquee was the greatest cost and the catering next. We had two live tribute bands and a disco.

Avenanap, if you are concerned about the cost of things like that at your son's current school, you will be apoplectic for most of the next few years if you send him to the most likely alternative you mentioned to me off-board!

ours is a state school as well btw

But if you've been there a while then you'll know that you're not expected to go to everything. Some parents enjoy these things, and are willing to pay, and would prefer to be somewhere half decent than sitting around in the gym. But no-one will be forcing you at all, and unless it is a very small school, or you are famous or very outspoken, then I suspect that no-one will notice whether or not you go...

yes the prices are madness we simply dont go we cant afford it!