What do fairs say about schools?

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By Hannah Richardson BBC News education reporter

Face painting and the tombola stall are regular features of school fairs

It's an institution as innocent as summer itself - the school summer fair.

But behind the trays of iced fairy cakes and lovingly labelled tombola items, prospective parents are scouring the stalls for clues of the school's strengths and weaknesses.

A glance down the list of prizes in the big raffle will give many parents a good idea exactly how much clout the school has.

Those boasting cars as a first prize are far more likely to impress than those offering a small cash prize or a meal for two at the local down-at-heel bistro.

It's not just because fair-goers have the chance of winning a great prize, but because it shows exactly what type of person sends their child to the school.

A quick whizz around the stalls will show exactly how deep parental involvement runs - an essential ingredient in the success of any school.

Parents and their involvement in the schools is one of the most important ways of raising educational attainment and success Annette Wiles National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations

And they can be a lucrative business, with fairs and other events arranged by parent teacher associations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland raising £68 million last year.

Annette Wiles, policy and research manager at the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations, said: "School fetes are primarily about fund raising but they are also very much about building the relationship with the local community.

"Whether that's local parents, prospective parents or local businesses, they're very much about raising the school's profile.

"But they're also about giving parents and children the chance to be involved and celebrate the achievement at the end of year."

She added: "So school fairs can be a great way for prospective parents to see a school in a relaxed setting that they won't get by going to an open day, because they are primarily about getting together and having a good time.

"We now know that parents and their involvement in school is one of the most important ways of raising educational attainment and success.

"And more and more parents understand the importance of that role."

So if a school can pull in scores of parents to man their stalls and produce cakes and crafts to sell for the benefit of the school, they are demonstrating how well school staff and parents work as a team in other areas.

I had some local parents transfer to our school on the basis of what they saw at this year's school fair Helen Frostick Head teacher St Mary Magdalen's Catholic Primary School, Mortlake

Helen Frostick, head teacher of St Mary Magdalen's Catholic Primary School in Mortlake, south-west London, said 98% of the effort to put on her school's recent fair came from parents.

She said the event was primarily about raising money, with £12,000 netted this time around.

"It is also a good marketing opportunity," she added because it's so well done."

So much so that prospective parents are often invited to the fair when they are shown around the school.

"In fact I had some local parents who had children at another school transfer to our school on the basis of what they saw at this year's school fair.

"They were very impressed by my staff and on that basis made an appointment to see me and now they are transferring," said Mrs Frostick.

Pupils' behaviour at the fair can impress or otherwise

She said the main raffle was a very big earner, with many parents able to pull in impressive prizes.

This year's top prize was a family membership to a swanky health and fitness club. The top prize at a not so popular neighbouring school fair was £50 cash.

'Making it work'

So if a successful school fair can be a good way of wooing parents, can an unimpressive one damage a school's chances of winning over doubtful parents?

As one prospective parent in Richmond, Martin McCormick, put it: "I went to a fair at one of the less popular schools near me that I was considering for my son.

"From the amount of stalls and variety of entertainments on offer it looked like there might be just enough willing parents to make it work.

"But we were slightly put off by the fact that the first thing we saw when we arrived was a little boy pull down his trousers and pee in the school playground.

"The other perhaps more worrying thing was that when we arrived we could not quite work out whether the fair had actually started or not."

So for those schools who manage just a limited amount of parental involvement, they can only hope that the school fair can act as a lever to invite more.

"For some schools, the fair will be very much about reaching out to parents and encouraging them to be engaged in the PTA as well as celebrating achievement at the end of the year," says the NCPTA's Mrs Wiles.