Northgate Summer Fayre: 'It was a joy to see people having fun – and what an awesome community spirit vibe!'

Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations were extended at Northgate Primary School when it staged its summer fayre with a royal theme.

Pupils, families and staff who attended the three-hour event on Saturday (June 11) enjoyed a varied range of activities and entertainment in royal-themed zones.

The fayre was organised by the Cricketfield Lane school's parent-teacher association. Adults paid £1 a head to enter while children were admitted free.

Co-chairs Geri Wren and Jo Parrott said: "The event was very well attended and had an awesome and inspiring community spirit vibe.

"We're still working through what all the different attractions raised, but early indications suggest we've collected well over £4,000 for the school so far, which is fantastic news.

"We had lots of feedback throughout the day which suggested it was Northgate’s best summer fayre ever, largely due to the wide variety of attractions, excellent refreshments and, of course, the great weather."

The Royal Games Room featured traditional attractions of splat a rat, hook a duck, hoop-la, beat the goalie and sponge the teacher.

In the Northgate Horse Guards Arena visitors could enjoy pony rides and a dog show – both new features this year – be entertained by performances by the school choir and Northgate All Stars cheerleaders, watch a karate display and join a hip hop workshop.

The dog show consisted of five classes: waggiest tail, best paw shaker, best rescue, gorgeous golden oldie for dogs aged 7+ and dog the judge would most like to take home. Every entrant received a rosette and there were trophies for the five category winners.

The Bouncy Windsor Castle zone featured fairground rides and seven different inflatables while the Northgate Royal Household had a disco, tombola and a raffle with 37 prizes.

Visitors could enjoy food and drink in the Afternoon Tea Jubilee Party zone courtesy of Hockerill's Smoke BBQ Kitchen, Grace Makes Dough – a young small business owner from Stortford who made her first big event work with just four days' notice – Raynham Road's The Belgian Brewer, coffee from Hasta Barista plus a cake stall, candyfloss machine and ice cream van, which drew the longest queue.

Geri and Jo said: "The pony rides and dog show were definitely a welcome innovation and were thoroughly enjoyed.

"The seven varied bouncy castles were a huge hit with the children. Purchasing a wristband gave you unlimited use for the entire fayre. Lots of bouncing took place, keeping the kids occupied and allowing the adults to relax.

"We had some wonderful performances in our arena, where the school’s kids performed throughout the afternoon. Our very own choir and cheerleaders put on brilliant shows. Our karate kids were amazing too."

The ever-popular attractions of the Red Cross response team, Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and Hertfordshire police provided children in particular with an exciting but educational aspect to the fayre.

"It was a joy to see people having fun whilst raising much-needed funds for our school, particularly after such a difficult two years with Covid," said Geri and Jo. "Thank you to everyone that came to our fayre and supported us – we truly appreciate it."

The fayre was sponsored by Forge Homes, which offered the main raffle prize of a £500 Center Parcs voucher. Other prizes included a £250 gym and fitness package, £150 family photo shoot, £60 voucher for Stock Florist and Fordes and a £50 voucher for clothes shop Aristocrat.

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