Summer Fair 2025 - Wild About Nature

In this newsletter, we’re excited to share all the highlights from the Summer Fair 2025 and our Wild About Nature Campaign — including how much we raised together and a full list of raffle winners! Plus, don’t miss the latest updates on our New library project and a generous donation from B&Q Chingford to help transform our outdoor spaces. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it all together!

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @yardleypta to keep up to date on our next events.

You can now see all the photos of the event on Natalie Goldie's Photographer Website, who kindly donated her time to capture special moments of our summer fair 2025. <LINK>

Grant from B&Q - Chingford

Before we dive into the updates for the Summer Fair, we’re absolutely thrilled about our ongoing efforts to improve the outdoor spaces for our little ones. We’re delighted to announce that, in partnership with Neighbourly, we've secured a generous £1,000 grant from B&Q - Chingford! Last Friday, Barry Harman, the deputy manager of B&Q, paid a visit to our school for a technical assessment. He’ll be supporting us in repairing various items in the Early Years Playground, refreshing Peacock Park Playground, and providing materials for our library project. Following the visit, Barry has pledged to engage with other stores and suppliers to ensure we receive as much support and materials as possible. B&Q will donate essential materials and also skilled volunteers to support with our project. I would like to thank Mrs Roberts (library project) and Mrs Samuels (sensory area and early years playground) for their support and guidance!

Library Project Launch

On that note, we’re thrilled to kick off the library project! The talented interior designer, Beth Ivy, has generously volunteered her time and expertise to lead this initiative and is currently putting the final touches on the design. We are investing £10,000 into this project, and to maximise our budget, we are counting on volunteers to help with painting the entire library, assembling furniture, building shelves, and installing the new carpet (donation to be confirmed). If you're a carpenter, handy with DIY, or simply willing to lend a hand under guidance, we'd love to hear from you! Please contact your class rep or email (committee@yardleypta.co.uk). We'll be announcing the project dates soon.

Yardley Library Project - Interior Designer

This will be the largest project the PTA has ever undertaken, and your involvement will help transform the school — not just for your child, but for generations to come. To mark this special moment in our school's history, we plan to install a commemorative plaque with the names of all participating families, along with a group photo to celebrate the incredible spirit of our community.

Wild About Nature: A Summer Fair to Remember

Despite the scorching heat, our incredible school community came together to celebrate, support, and—most importantly—have fun! We raised around £4,000 in net profit, just slightly below last year’s total, likely due to the quieter footfall on the day (perhaps the heat kept a few families away!).

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported the Summer Fair, including our wonderful stallholders, Plusrooms for sponsoring our advertising boards, and the community managers at the local supermarkets: Tesco Extra (N18 3HF), Sainsbury’s (E4 8ST), Tesco (E4 9EF), and Waitrose (E18 2NA). Your support made a real difference!

This year’s theme, "Wild About Nature," celebrated our ongoing commitment to improve the outdoor spaces and facilities for our children. The campaign will continue throughout the year, along with our fundraising efforts. Our ultimate goal is to build a year-round outdoor classroom — a dedicated space where teachers can deliver enriching lessons beyond the walls of the classrooms. This environment will help children spend more time in nature supporting emotional wellbeing, and inspiring a lasting love for the natural world.

Raffle Winners

We had 25 prizes, including £200 in cash! This exciting prize list wouldn't be possible without the support of the amazing businesses around us. Some prizes are still unclaimed and can be collected at the school office until 17/07/25 (last day of the term). We would also like to extend a special thank you to the parents, carers, and teachers who generously donated items for the raffle and lucky dip. Your generosity enabled us to raise extra funds for our school and brought immense joy to our attendees.

Gratitude and Acknowledgments

Thank you to Mr. Evans for his trust and support, and to all the teachers and office staff working tirelessly behind the scenes. Special thanks to Heidi for keeping us on budget, Mike and Zel Dag for rallying community support and donations, Amina for coordinating volunteers, and Cristina, Roger, and Dilan for handling logistics and admin.

A huge thank you to our amazing volunteers—Afsha, Amelia & Ihsan, Ann Hunt, Anne-Marie, Arezo (and her husband), Becca, Carolle, Charlie, Cheryl, Cherie, Claire, Danielle, Dee, Dimitris, Ebru, Erica, Emma, Ezgi, James & Natasha, Jason, Jessica & Mike, Kirsty, Laura, Lei, Lucy, MarynaS, Mike, Monika, Natalie, Nicole, Phillip, Rod, Susan, and Toni—for your time, energy, and teamwork. From distributing flyers, setting up gazebos to running stalls, selling tickets, supervising inflatables, and staying to tidy up—you made this day possible and created joyful memories for our children. A special shoutout to Erica, our incredible TA, who ran the Hook-a-Duck and Lucky Dip stall all day!

To our stallholders who brought variety of products and fun to the day — and to Wenzel's the Bakers for always adding that sweet finishing touch to our events. We’re also grateful to the local businesses who advertised in our Summer Fair booklet. Your support helped cover costs and build stronger community ties. Lastly, to all our incredible food vendors — thank you for the amazing variety of flavours that brought the fair to life.

Food Stalls: 10th Scouts - Chingford, Bana's Grill, La Aceituna, Balkan, Ember, Boba and Go, Cake Crumbs2018, Fox and Bear Coffee Bar, Ice Cream Van, Josa Cakes and Bakes, Popcorn and Candy Floss, Rosella's Kitchen, Slush, Waffle Hub, Yummy Berries

Stalls: 3D Make Me, Allure Gemme, Cows on Chingford Plains books, Coco & Yas, Cozy Charm Studio, Earth Treasures, Eden Bio Oils, Fidget Calm Creations, Gemini Home Decor, Gulshana, Inflatable football and dart board, Littlest Bookworms, Lucky Wholesale Ltd, Nazmun Nehar, Oudhabibi, Pearl and Plum Handmade Creations, Scentsy, Sharks Trading, Stars of Myanmar Friendship Club, Sweets Galore, Toy Mania and Tracy Bell Avon Rep.

Summer Fair Booklet: Chingford School of Tennis, Churchills, COBRA, Crossways, Drama Kids, Energie Gym, Go Further Cycling, Goldings Motor Engineers, Little Kickers, Luscious Hair and Beauty, Motorpoint, Mucky Rascals, Natalie - Photographer, Plus Room, Rugby Chingford, Simply Balanced, Southwell Drives, Stagecoach, The Barber Station, Unique Locksmiths, West Essex Cricket Club, and Zekana.

Together, we made it unforgettable!

A few thoughts from me...

Organising the Summer Fair was no small task — months of planning, hard work, and teamwork went into making it happen. But seeing the field filled with happy families, laughter, and painted faces made it all worthwhile. A huge thank you to everyone who helped before, during, and especially after the event. To the few who stayed behind to tidy up in the heat — your help truly meant the world. Events like this show just how strong and generous our community is. If you'd like to be part of making more of these special moments happen, we’d love for you to join the PTA! If you're interested, please get in touch — we’d love to have you on board! committee@yardleypta.co.uk

Year 6: Wishing You a Bright Future

A very special goodbye and good luck to our amazing Year 6 students - you've been such a big part of the school, and we are proud of everything you've achieved. As you head off to secondary school, we wish you all the success and happiness in this exciting new chapter of your lives. Keep being curious, brave, and kind - you are ready for anything that comes next.

Have a Joyful Summer!

As the school year draws to a close, I would like to take a moment to wish all our families a wonderful and relaxing summer holiday. Whether you are travelling, enjoying time at home, or just taking a much-needed break, I hope you find time to rest, recharge, and make special memories with your loved ones.

Wishing you a sunny and restful summer ahead!

Warm wishes,

Evelin Kiss

PTA Chair