Ticketing for
School Events

School events are unlike any other ticketed events because your audience is captive but diverse. Parents range from tech-savvy millennials to grandparents who have never bought a ticket online. Your ticketing solution needs to be simple enough for everyone while robust enough to handle the specific demands of school settings.

The variety of school events is enormous: nativity plays, school fairs, sports days, proms, award ceremonies, PTA discos, and charity fundraisers. Each has different requirements. A nativity play might need reserved seating with a limit of 2 tickets per child. A school fair needs general admission with session-based entry to manage capacity. A prom might need dietary preference collection at checkout.

Budget sensitivity is extreme. Schools and PTAs operate on shoestring budgets, so every pound spent on ticketing fees is a pound not spent on children. When you are charging £3 for a school fair entry, a £0.80 booking fee represents a 27% overhead. That is not acceptable when the money is for the school.

Data protection adds another layer. Schools handle children's data under strict GDPR rules. Your ticketing platform must be GDPR-compliant, and you need to be careful about what information you collect and store, especially when tickets relate to identifiable children.

For school events, simplicity and cost are the two deciding factors. Here is what to look for:

• Zero or minimal fees because school event tickets are typically £2-10
• Simple setup that a volunteer PTA member can manage without technical knowledge
• Clear, mobile-friendly checkout that parents can complete in under a minute
• Ticket limits per family to ensure fair distribution for popular shows

Eventbrite is commonly used by schools but charges 6.95% + £0.59 per ticket. On a £5 nativity ticket, that is £0.94 in fees, nearly 19% of the ticket price. WeGotTickets takes 10%, which is just as painful at low price points.

tickts charges zero platform fees. The only cost is Stripe processing (1.5% + 20p), which on a £5 ticket is just £0.28. For a school selling 200 nativity tickets, that is £56 total vs £188 on Eventbrite. The £132 saved goes directly to the school.

See the full platform comparison or run your numbers through the fee calculator.

School event pricing should be kept as simple and affordable as possible. Here are the key principles:

Keep it low. Most school events are not profit-maximising exercises. A nativity play ticket at £3-5, a school fair entry at £1-3, and a prom ticket at £15-25 are typical UK ranges. The goal is to cover costs and perhaps raise a modest amount for the school fund.

Offer family bundles. A family ticket (2 adults + up to 3 children) at the price of 2 adult tickets makes life easier for parents and avoids the awkward situation of a family of five paying £25 for a school play.

Free tickets for children under a certain age. If the event is a school fair or outdoor event, letting under-5s in free removes a barrier for young families.

Consider pay-what-you-can for inclusive events. Some schools use a suggested donation model for events like harvest festivals or carol concerts. Not all platforms support this, but it ensures no family is excluded for financial reasons.

Limit tickets per family for high-demand shows. A 2-ticket limit per child for the school play prevents one family buying 10 tickets while another gets none. This is a platform feature, not just a pricing strategy, so check your platform supports it.

For a school play with 4 performances, 150 seats each (600 total tickets) at £5 per ticket (total: £3,000):

• Eventbrite: £564 in fees (you keep £2,436)
• WeGotTickets: £300 in fees (you keep £2,700)
• tickts: £165 in Stripe processing (you keep £2,835)

That £399 difference between Eventbrite and tickts is enough to buy new costumes, props, or equipment for the drama department. Over a school year with multiple events, the savings compound significantly.

Ease of use is equally important. PTA volunteers typically set up school event ticketing, and they should not need a training session to figure it out. Look for platforms where you can create an event, set ticket types, and share the link in under 10 minutes.

Send the ticket link through existing school channels. Parents check the school app, WhatsApp group, or email newsletter daily. Share your ticket link through all of these. Do not rely on social media alone because not all parents follow the school's Facebook page.

Open sales early for popular events. School plays and proms sell out fast. Open ticket sales at least 3-4 weeks before the event and send reminders at the 2-week and 1-week marks. Parents are busy and will forget unless reminded.

Use class reps as promoters. Every class has a parent rep who coordinates communication. Ask them to share the ticket link directly in their class WhatsApp groups. A personal message from a class rep converts better than a generic school newsletter.

Plan for the non-digital parents. Some families will struggle with online ticketing. Offer a school office collection option where parents can pay cash and receive a printed ticket. This ensures no family is excluded while still handling the majority of sales online.

Collect dietary requirements at checkout for events with food. Proms, school suppers, and gala dinners need dietary information. Choose a platform that lets you add custom questions to the checkout form so you collect this information automatically rather than chasing it separately.

Keep the refund policy simple and generous. Families have unpredictable schedules. A no-questions-asked refund policy up to 48 hours before the event builds trust and removes purchase hesitation. The goodwill is worth more than the occasional refund.

Find suitable venues for larger school events on UK Venue Guide, especially for proms or awards evenings that need external spaces.