Should Secondary School PTAs sponsor academic prizes for pupils?

[Nicolette42]

I was chatting recently with friends about secondary school prize ceremonies and noted that one PTA funded a handful of subject prizes of around £10 each and the question was raised about whether this was an appropriate use of PTA funds, given it was just some subjects. And since PTAs were about supporting all pupils, should any prizes funded by a PTA be awarded to pupils who had likewise contributed to the school community, instead of just excelling at a particular subject.
But I can't find any information about it so wondered if anyone had any experience and/or thoughts about this.

Are there other prizes, or only the PTA ones?
(i.e. is the PTA filling in missing slots?)

It doesn't sound very expensive so could be fine and only a small proportion of the budget.

Our PTA mainly funds capital things, but we have to keep encouraging some departments to put in bids as otherwise creative and performing arts get too much.

I suspect they're filling in gaps but not all subjects are covered so I would have expected them to cover all the gaps or none. Something to think about.