COMMENT: Schools do well to use imagination to raise cash

And parents who are able to afford these little extras don’t mind paying if it means their child will enjoy some new educational experience.

But there are, of course, some parents who are unable to afford payments of any kind.

Budgets are sometimes tight, and they may well resent repeated pleas to contribute.

Even those who are able to chip in might give the odd tut at the latest request, and wonder wryly if it might not have been cheaper to have junior privately educated.

Funding for public services, whether it be hospitals, education or getting the bins emptied, is a constant source of consternation.

So if a school has a big project in mind, like Leesland Junior School in Gosport, which wants to renovate its swimming pool with a new roof and heating system, it needs to find imaginative ways to raise the money.

Letters home to mums and dads are unlikely to come up with the £100,000 needed.

The school’s business manager explained: ‘The main issue we face is that it isn’t fair to rely on parents to constantly give money to us, especially for things like non-school uniform days where they don’t get anything in return.’

So full marks to them for hosting alternative events like a Take That tribute concert, which was fun for the whole community, but also spread the word about their fundraising.

With times tight, schools need to apply for every grant they can get, but also be as imaginative as they can in the ways they raise funds.

After all, when was the last time you went to a jumble sale?