Exeter parents call on ‘Taylor Swift’ to boost classroom funds

Parents at a primary school in Exeter are hoping to raise thousands of pounds to improve outdoor learning spaces - and they are turning to Taylor Swift for help.

The Parent, Teacher and Friends Association (PTFA) at Pinhoe Primary School has booked Fearlessly Taylor, one of the UK’s leading tribute acts, to perform at Exeter Phoenix on 18 October.

The family-friendly concert will raise money towards the school’s £15,000 fundraising target.

Organiser Kate Baldock, who has two children at the school, said the money would be spent on adding canopies to classrooms that currently lack shelter, as well as furniture and equipment to support outdoor lessons.

“We’d like to raise £15k this year for the school. Some classrooms have no canopy, so we’d like to add one to each space and then buy outside furniture and resources as well as funds allow,” she said.

Recent surveys suggest many schools are facing growing financial pressures.

A 2025 survey by NAHT indicates that 98 per cent of school leaders say they lack sufficient funding to meet all pupils’ needs, with 46 per cent already considering cuts to teacher hours and 80 per cent expecting cuts to teaching assistant roles.

Analysis by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) shows that 71 per cent of primary school leaders expect to run a budget deficit in the 2025–26 academic year, and a significant share anticipate reducing support staff to balance the books.

Many schools are leaning more heavily on parent-led fundraising and community events to fund what would once have been considered core assets, from classroom materials to building repairs.

The Exeter event has been designed as a family-friendly afternoon, with doors opening at 1.30pm.

Children must be accompanied by a ticket-holding adult.

Early bird tickets are available until 11 October for £12.50, rising to £15 thereafter.

The PTFA said the event was open to the wider community, not just school families.