Noel-Baker Academy Comedy Fundraising Gig

In December 2022, Noel-Baker Academy, a co-educational secondary school located in Alvaston, Derby, was approached by comedian Lucy Beaumont to hold a comedy gig in their theatre to raise money for children and their families during the winter months. Lucy and her husband, comedian Jon Richardson, were embarking on a tour of schools with some friends with the intention of spreading their cheer for free to help combat the cost of living crisis. 

Another local secondary school under the L.E.A.D. Academy Trust umbrella, Da Vinci Academy was also set to benefit from the funds raised, and a hardship fund was created to support both establishments.

Once a date was set with the school, Deputy Headteacher, Kate Richardson approached Eduprise for their help with the promotion of the event to sell tickets. The Eduprise content team got to work writing a press release for local press including the Derby Telegraph, and social media posts for Twitter and Facebook. Designers put together some eye-catching assets with photos of the generous comedians to go with the social media posts. The initial post announcing the event received almost 3000 engagements.

Deputy Headteacher Kate Richardson commented: “I am certain that the professional quality of the promotional materials helped us to reach a far wider audience than if we had produced them for ourselves.” 

The press release was also sent to the local radio station, BBC Derby, and the local news, BBC East Midlands Today, both of whom were very interested in the story and requested further information. Interviews with both Lucy and Jon were arranged in the weeks before the event and school staff were excited to see their school on the local morning news, as well as hearing it mentioned on the radio during the day too.

Some tickets were reserved for VIP access and available for a higher price than the standard £25, in a bid to raise more money for the hardship fund, and a raffle was also organised with many local companies contributing prizes. Eduprise designed a poster with the logos of these companies to be displayed at the event.

Thanks to the successful promotion of the event, over 400 tickets sold out within a week, and the total raised on the night exceeded £14,000, which will go a long way to support the children of the two academies and their families with the rising cost of fuel and food during the winter months. 

If your school is consistently performing well, but you aren’t able to turn that success into the local reputation you deserve, talk to us today about how we can get the word out.