Friends of Deighton Gates (PTA)
Welcome to The Friends of Deighton Gates Page!
We're the school's Parent Teacher Association – now known as The Friends of Deighton Gates – and we bring together parents, carers, neighbours and staff to raise vital funds for the school and help create a strong sense of community. Everyone is welcome, whether you want to share ideas, help out, or just come along for a cuppa and a chat.
We organise fun, family-friendly events throughout the year – including our popular Summer Fair, school discos, Christmas quizzes, and year group bake sales. Thanks to generous support from local businesses, our raffles have featured amazing prizes like glamping holidays, motorhome hire, festival tickets, vouchers for local shops and signed sports memorabilia.
The success of these events has been down to the amazing support we get from parents and friends of the school. Families have realised that these events raise money for the school and as importantly they are great fun!!
All the money we raise goes directly back into the school, helping to fund everything from a new outdoor classroom and upgraded IT suite to a refurbished sensory room, fitness track, new library books, a community-accessible defibrillator - along with many more smaller but equally important projects. We also provide every child with a book bad when they start school and a leavers’ gift when they move on to High School.
Getting involved is easy and hugely rewarding – and our events are a great way to meet other families and have some fun while supporting the school.
Christmas Wrap Up!
⛄Christmas Quiz and raffle raised a brilliant £1449!
⛄Christmas Card (and gifts!) commission raised a fantastic £285!
⛄Our ever popular Secret Gifts Room raised a superb £428 !
⛄And finally we sold refreshments at nativity afternoon performance raising a further £20!
This gives us an amazing grand Christmas total of £2182 !!!
We’d like to take this opportunity to say a BIG thank you to everyone who has helped with our Christmas events this year. From the Quiz team, to the Christmas Card organiser, Raffle ticket sellers to wrapping elves, those who’ve helped organise our festive activities and all who’ve supported us - a huge thank you!
We hope everyone young and old(er) has enjoyed the events we put on. All the proceeds we raise go towards benefitting the children at Deighton Gates 🎁 From all of the Friends of Deighton Gates, we wish you a very Merry Christmas.
If you'd like to help us in any way in 2026 we'd be very happy to welcome you, so please do join us at a meeting or get in touch to help out.
fodg@dgpta.org
Big Fat Christmas Quiz 2025
We just wanted to say a heartfelt thanks for coming along, bringing the laughs, buying the raffle tickets, extra donations, and helping make it such a cracking night. As you may have heard, together we raised an amazing £1,449 — which will go straight towards making school life even better for the kids. But honestly, while the money will make a real difference, the best part of the night was the energy, the fun, and seeing everyone together having such a good time without the kids for once! Hopefully see you all again for next years quiz - if you'll have us back!
’Twas The Night of Our Quizmas 🎄
’Twas the night of our Quizmas, and all through the hall,
Laughter and cheer had been shared by us all.
The FoDG elves had worked hard with (mostly) great care,
To bring quiz night magic and merriment there.
The tables were twinkling, the lights shining bright,
As quizzers assembled for a festive good night.
With pens at ready, and the bottles you brought,
We asked all the questions, you thought and you thought!
From Where’s the Year Gone? to What’s the Connection?,
Your minds were stretched in every direction.
Then came The Cryptic Factor, delighted - despaired;
Some cracked Brother / Bother, some just sat and stared!
When halftime arrived, spirits hit max,
As Mojis pizza was hoovered in lightning-fast stacks.
With slices in hand and bellies refuelled,
Teams went back to it with their brain cells retooled!
General Ignorance tested the brains on the floor,
While Catchphrase had you saying what you saw.
Then Film & TV and Sing Along Live,
Helped the music lovers truly thrive!
Then came Answer Smash, with mashups galore —
From HunGary Lineker that earned a deep groan and a snore,
To Westminster AbBeyonce and Clint EastWoodstock too,
With ArgenTina Turner — the groaning just grew!
And up at the front, in festive good cheer,
Jingle and Jangle kept spirits in gear.
They forgot to get licensed (oops… yes, that was Paul!)
So it became BYOB — and it didn’t stop fun at all!
The raffle was drawn, the victors were crowned,
As cheers and applause filled the room all around.
But it wasn’t just winners who shone so bright —
It was friendship and laughter all through the night.
So here’s to you quizzers, for joining the fun,
To every teammate who gave it a go and had fun.
And cheers to the helpers, both seen and unseen,
Who made this the best Quizmas there’s ever been!
With thanks from FoDG for your festive delight —
Merry Quizmas to all, and to all a good night! ✨
Christmas Raffle - Winners
The raffle was drawn during the interval at our quiz on Friday 28th November. Winning ticket numbers shown above. All winners should have been contacted individually. Thanks to everyone who bought tickets, thanks to our raffle organisers & sellers, and thank you to all the kind companies and individuals who donated prizes:
Stafford Hall Vintage & Antiques
Kate & Noah's Ark Mini Petting Zoo
Halloween Disco 2025
We hope all the kids had a great night. Thank you to everyone who supported our event.
We are delighted to announce we raised an awesome £1,041!
Special thanks to "Team Disco" for organising the event and to all who volunteered to help with setting up/selling & supervising the dancefloor/clearing it all away after - we couldn’t do it without you!
With thanks to our sponsor PFM Surveying LTD
Swimming Lessons
We’re delighted to share that this academic year, both Year 4 and Year 5 will go swimming. This means that from now on, swimming lessons at Deighton Gates will return permanently to Year 4. 🎉
Traditionally, Y4 pupils went swimming with school. However, back in 2020, lessons were cancelled due to COVID. That class had to catch up in Y5, and ever since, swimming has stayed in Y5.
After careful discussion, we strongly believe it’s time to move swimming back to Y4 – and thanks to Friends of Deighton Gates, we’re able to make this happen! The costs of transport and two full terms of lessons are significant, but FoDG are fully funding Y4 swimming this year. School have gladly accepted, and lessons will take place in the Spring Term. More details will follow from school later this term.
🌊 Why swimming is moving back to Year 4
🏊 Children build water confidence and safety skills a year sooner.
🏊 The gap between confident swimmers and non-swimmers is smaller in Y4, making it easier for swimming teachers to support everyone.
🏊 Y4 timetables allow more space for swimming compared to the demands of Y5.
🏊 Moving lessons earlier can help reduce body-confidence worries that sometimes arise further up school.
🏊 Pupils who don’t meet expectations can have another chance the following year without having to wait until Y6.
🏊 Some families choose to pause private lessons when school swimming starts, saving money and time after school.
🏊 Many schools in our area swim in Y4, keeping us aligned with local practice.
🏅 A big thank you!
This is only possible thanks to the generosity and hard work of the Friends of Deighton Gates community. Together, we’re giving our children an earlier, stronger start in swimming, water safety, and confidence.
Wow - What A Year!!
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who’s helped out, baked, donated, attended events or just cheered us on – together we’ve raised over £14,000 for the school this year! 💛👏
We’re already looking ahead, and we want to make sure FoDG keeps going strong for years to come. Our amazing Treasurer will be stepping down next summer, so we’re looking for someone to shadow her this year with a view to taking over. If you’re organised, friendly, have a love of spreadsheets and want to get more involved, give us a shout – we promise it’s not as scary as you may think! 😊
In the meantime, have a fantastic summer – see you in September! ☀🍦🌴
– The FoDG Team
Playground Makeover by FoDG Families
A group of Friends of Deighton Gates (FoDG) families came together to give the "well used" wooden structure in the centre of the playground a vibrant new lease of life.
Previously looking a little tired and worn, the structure has now been transformed with a fresh coat of paint – in the colours of the rainbow, just like our school logo! Children love to hide, sit and play around it, and we hope everyone agrees that it now looks brighter, happier, and more inviting.
This was the first step in our wider playground improvement project, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible volunteers who gave up their time on both Saturday and Sunday to help.
A huge thank you also goes to The Decorating Centre, Wetherby, who generously donated all the paint and brushes needed for the job – your support is very much appreciated. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to improve our school’s outdoor spaces!
Upcoming Meeting Dates
Tuesday 13th January 2026
Wednesday 11th February 2026
Wednesday 18th March 2026
Thursday 23rd April 2026
Tuesday 19th May 2026
Wednesday 17th June 2026
Tuesday 14th July 2026 (AGM)
Meetings are generally held from 8pm in the school conference room. Online MS Teams links are also available for people to dial in. Joining info available prior to the meeting or email us at fodg@dgpta.org.
Latest FoDG Meeting Agenda
Free ways to help raise funds for the FODG
1. Sign up to easyfundraising
Easyfundraising turns your everyday online shopping into free donations for the FoDG. Just start your online shopping first at easyfundraising, then shop as normal. Retailers will then make a small donation to say “thank you”.
Click this link to sign up - Friends of Deighton Gates - Wetherby Fundraising | Easyfundraising
2. Clothes and Shoes Recycling: We have a clothes and shoes recycling bin near the main entrance for items that are no longer needed. Please bring in any unwanted items in bags - wearable clothing, paired shoes, handbags and belts. All donations help raise money for our school and help save the planet!
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3. Co-Op Local Causes
Friends of Deighton Gates has been selected to be one of 3 "local causes" for the Co-op community fund. We will receive a minimum of £1000 but the fund runs for a year from now and the more people who select us as their nominated cause, the more money we receive.
NB- you can nominate from anywhere in the country as long as you are a co-op member (costs £1 to join) so Grandparents/friends/relations can choose to support us from afar!
Please log in and select us as your local cause. Using the link really does take seconds to do!
https://membership.coop.co.uk/causes/93126
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FoDG Minutes 2024-2025
Annual Reports
Get in touch!
If you have any questions, or want to get involved, please contact us - we always welcome new faces and new ideas! You can contact us via the form below, email fodg@dgpta.org or come along to any meetings.
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