(Pretty) please could we have your thoughts on school fairs for the times?

[JustineMumsnet]

Angela from the Times writes:
"We have noticed that in the more prestigious schools they are becoming ludicrously competitive and pricy (£7 chutney; professional sugar-craft cakes on the cake stall etc) and aim to raise thousands of pounds - sometimes five-figure sums - rather than hundreds."

Is this your experience and if so what do you think?
Many txs in advance. MN Towers.

I love attending but have to have stern looks at the PTA when they try to pressgang me into volunteering. I'm more than happy to open my wallet rather than give my time, although I do have some reservations about charity for schools.

But I would miss my annual opportunity to knock out one of my children with a poorly thrown welly, or smash plates, or drink warm squash, or win back the awful perfume my mother gave me for Xmas, or have a cryptic conversation with one of the teachers about some event they have failed to notify me of. And the little kids love it because they get to see that school is fun and exciting.

The horror, the horror?

No, not the experience of a school in the Midlands, we charge 50p entrance fee. Who in th ename of god, goes to a school fair in anticipation of spending £7 on feckin chutney?!! madness.

Our school isn't huge and nothing (except some sports coaching costs more than £1, and we regularly raise £1700.

I was shaking with nerves when I turned up to help at my very first school fair. I was face-painting and had never done it before (apart from a practice on my dcs the previous evening!). I thought that I would have complaints from parents that my artwork wasn't good enough, or from the other face-painting volunteers that I was taking too long, or even from the children themselves. But, no, everything went swimmingly, the children loved anything we painted on them, the parents were happy that their dcs were happy, and the other volunteers were happy that there was another volunteer!

I now thoroughly enjoy my regular stint on the face-painting stall, but have to put my foot down in order to get a chance to browse the other stalls or see my own dcs performing. That's why we need more volunteers!

And as for the cakes, I think our schools undercharge for them.

ach I posted a rant about our school fairs on the duplicate thread........

only raise in the £100's at the infant and junior school fairs and is all 10/20p a go at things (mostly)

BUT what p*sses me off is that 90-95% of the ways to spend your money are pot-luck things, tombolas, hook-a-boat, find the can/bottle, pick a lolly pop. Very few opportunites to actually buy something.

Just had a rant about this on another thread!

Ours wants cakes bringing in atm. It's going to cost me a fiver and they'll sell it for a pound. Now I'll admit I'm no maths genius but it seems to me that the winner here is the supermarket!

I'd rather just give them the money and be done with it! It is a nuisance.

I like the baking aspect.

DS3's fair is a few weeks away- looking forwards to the cake making. However our school (as in the one he attended befor SNU) sold cakes at decent prices so am ssuming new school does- we' ll see.

But I like an excuse to bake anyway LOL.

Juniors don't have a fair, Head is opposed to PTA or any such involvement which always seems a shame, new Head starting in September may feel otherwise however.

Oh there may be £7 chutney at the former school, but in fairness only becuase a local posh garden centre pays for a stall space.

We also had a beekeeper with honey once, boys loved it

This weekend I went to 2 school fairs - one private, one state. The private one was £10 for a family ticket, the state one 50p per adult. This did make me think . Both were good fun and virtually identical once in.

Prestigious schools are upping the ante at their school fairs. A tin of value baked beans and a panda pop just won't cut it on the tombola anymore. And forget the cake stall's crispy crackles and squashed cupcakes These days it's all sugar craft and bespoke baking.

"We won't sell any chutney less than £7 on the produce stand," Camilla Made- Up- Name of Pretend PTA declares. "Nothing cocks a snook at the credit crunch more than my hand-churned lemon curd at 12 pounds a pop. "

"We consider it a failure if we don't net at least twenty thousand pounds for school funds,' adds Fiona I-Never-Really-Said-That-Obviously.

The contributers of godsend-to-a-lazy-journalist internet forum Mumsnet may disagree.

"Prizes are plastic tat, much loved by the children.
There is a second hand toy stall where you donate back the stuff your children bought the year before." -SoupDragon

"No, not the experience of a school in the Midlands, we charge 50p entrance fee. Who in th ename of god, goes to a school fair in anticipation of spending £7 on feckin chutney?!! madness." - HuwEdwards

"The fair is just the normal home-made cakes (decorated with smarties etc), tombolas, bouncy castle type affair.
Dancing display and footie tournament.
The usual mix of fun and tat." - GrimmatheNome

etc etc...ByAngelaoftheTimes

(That'll be £150 please...)

Spot on, Merrylegs!

geordiminx, that's just how children are at a fete, flightly and overexcited. My dds read lots, have loads of books, like to buy more, but there's something seemingly irresistable about face-painting (urgh, I am so bored by it, and it means you have to remember to actually wash them properly later) - very immediate.

Thanks everyone for the input. We will pass on - enjoy your tombolas one and all!

Here we are then. Doesn't look like we were much help!

Although today I heard of a school fete charging £5 for a glass of Pimms.
Was £1 at ours.
(Sorry must leave thread alone to die now)