Running a Successful Quiz Night

Running a successful quiz night

Quiz nights offer you the opportunity to run a social event for the whole school community whilst raising money. Quiz nights:

are fun and relatively easy to organise
can raise significant sums of money
are a good way to bring parents, teachers and pupils together sociably, often with other members of the local community
can be offered as an adult only or a family event
can become a regular feature in your calendar of events - note how often pubs run quiz nights to attract customers

Before running a quiz night it is worth considering:

if a quiz night will appeal to your school community, particularly if your school has a significant number of children and families for whom English is their second language
who will act as quiz master. A quiz master who can run the event in an amusing and confident way is an absolute essential
will your prizes be money, gift tokens or gifts. You will no doubt find that some people attend quiz nights with the serious aim of winning cash prizes
will you admit children. Children and young people are often keen to take part, however, adults may not welcome this, especially if they are serious about winning

Planning

You will need to identify a suitable venue that can accommodate enough people to ensure a good competitive quiz atmosphere. The venue will need appropriate equipment such as tables and chairs, a place to serve refreshments and food and if possible a microphone or PA system with a CD player. The school hall should meet these requirements.

Confirm what form your quiz will take. A quiz running for two hours can comfortably contain 6 - 8 rounds, with ten questions per round. The PTA-UK has devised a series of quiz rounds / questions that are free for PTA-UK members to use.

You will need to agree how many people will be in each team and how much you will charge per team. Some PTAs charge per person and have no maximum or minimum number to a team. Each team needs to give themselves a name.

You need to decide on the prizes. Options include a cash prize, a gift of some sort or gift vouchers. You could also consider approachinglocal businessesto sponsor each round in return for advertising their business at the event.

Setting the quiz

tailor the quiz to suit your audience. Take into account their age, sex, ability etc and decide on the level of difficulty
decide how long you want the quiz to last; eight rounds of ten questions is a good length
consider including an interval as this gives the quiz master a break, allows you to serve the food, the audience to use the bar and if you are running a raffle you can sell tickets
dividing your questions into rounds rather than a continuous stream of questions will make your quiz more interesting and use your imagination when selecting your topics. Some suggested topics are sport, history, books, geography, spelling, soap operas, music, famous faces, local knowledge, topical questions, cookery and science
to save work you could consider purchasing a set of questions from a quiz supplier. A simple search on the internet will give you a good selection to start with and you will find that some specialise in quiz questions for PTAs
include table questions. These are usually visual or lateral questions that require some time to work out and can be left on the table to solve throughout the event. A page of company logos without the associated names is a good one or flags of the world
in each round try to include one or two questions that will have your teams agonising over the answers. Use questions that will be on the tips of their tongues. Avoid ambiguous questions and always be certain of your facts
the first round is usually a visual round. Plan to have at least four rounds before an interval
another visual round, to be completed during the break, works well too
after the break, people may be flagging, so make the second half slighter shorter. Aim for four rounds before the interval, a picture round during the interval and three rounds after the interval
as well as devising questions, you need to think about a title for each round. Do not make these titles too obvious and include the titles of some of the rounds in your publicity leaflets and posters
if children will be at the quiz, check that each round has some questions that they will be able to answer
aim for everyone to know at least three out of ten questions in any round and not to have more than one really tricky question per round
remember to prepare a tie break question. Use an obscure question, involving numbers, where the nearest answer wins e.g. What is the distance in kilometres between Lands End and John 0'Groats?

Rules of the game

each question should be read out once followed by a short break; the question should then be repeated. At the end of the round the quiz master should quickly recap all ten questions
give each team an answer sheet for each round and remember to have a stock of pens available
answer sheets should be brought to the scorers' table at the end of each round
once the next round has begun, the scorers should mark the answer sheets. Update the scores from each round as you go along to build interest and excitement. The quiz master should then read them out in reverse order, with the leader at the end, to build excitement, throughout the duration of the quiz. Before each round, team scores are marked up on the master score board, for everyone to see.
each team gets one chance to play a joker. When they do this, they can earn double points for the round in question. As the title of each round is announced, teams can bid play their joker. Make the round titles obscure i.e. don't call the sports round 'sport' or the teams with sports experts will play their joker

Running the quiz

The quiz master is central to the success and enjoyment of the event. Make sure it is someone who is comfortable with public speaking and can confidently and clearly read out questions. Unless it is a really small venue, it is advisable to use a microphone so that everyone can hear the quiz master. Ensure that they also have a jug of water at hand.

As well as the quiz master, you will need:

a quiz setter, to assist the quizmaster, oversee the scorers, and arbitrate any disputes
scorers, a minimum of two, to mark the answer sheets and keep the master score board up to date. Alternatively, you could get teams to mark each others papers (which can add to the friendly but slightly competitive atmosphere) and just have one person to keep the master scoreboard up to date

Choosing a date

consult with the headteacher to avoid clashing with exam time or other school events
think about local events and whether you want to avoid or coincide
check the sports calendar - avoid key football matches or other sporting events
make sure the school caretaker has plenty of advance notice

Promoting the quiz

Publicising the quiz is critical to its success. It is important to consider all your options, particularly if you are hoping to attract support from the wider local community:

make sure you get the event mentioned in school newsletters in good time; promote through the PTAnewslettertoo
display posters around the school and contact the local radio stations andnewspapers
ensure your promotional material includes details of the date, day of the week, times, price of tickets, where and when they go on sale and the prizes on offer.
if you are offering food and a bar remember to mention this too
state whether it is a family or adult only event
if the event is open to the wider local community, display posters in local libraries and supermarkets, in community centres and halls. Ask local businesses if they will display your poster on their premises.

Ticket sales

Some PTAs sell tickets in blocks of six or eight, leaving the buyers to make up their own teams. Alternatively, you can sell individual tickets so people can form teams on the night. A guide for ticket prices is £2 per person without food and £5 - £10 with food (depending on what you are offering). Consider offering teachers complimentary tickets - remember it is overtime for them so they will appreciate the gesture. Having a teachers' team can add an interesting twist to your event.

Food and Drink

If you want to offerfood, it is easier to include this in the ticket price. You will need to think how many people you can comfortably cater for and should give some thought to practicalities such as allowing reasonable space around the tables and estimating how many people you can quickly serve with food.

Catering for large numbers can be challenging, so this needs to be carefully considered. You might want to think about using the services of a local restaurant or fish and chip shop, arranging for them to deliver the food for consumption during the interval or at the end of the event. Ask parents if they know of a local, reliable catering company; you might find that a parent either works for or owns their own catering business. Paper plates, napkins and plastic cutlery will keep things simple but remember to build these costs into your budget, when working out the ticket price. Alternatively you could ask participants to bring their own plates and cutlery; saving on cost and helping the environment too.

If you are providing alcohol, keep the bar open throughout the event and if possible ensure that it is located in the same room as the quiz. The supply of alcohol requires a licence:

PTAs in England and Wales will need to apply for aTemporary Event Notice.
in Northern Ireland under the Licensing (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 it is necessary for premises to belicensedto sell alcohol. However, a person who is the licence holder for a pub, hotel or restaurant may apply to a magistrates' court for an occasional licence, which will authorise the sale of alcohol at a function in unlicensed premises.

If you decide to keep it simple and not to offer food or drink, suggest that people bring their own snacks and refreshments. Remember to adjust the ticket price and provide extra rubbish bags.

Raffle

Arafflewill boost your fundraising. Approach local businesses for raffle prizes and ask parents for donations. Display the prizes on a side table, near the bar or at the door and draw the raffle whilst the final scores are being calculated.

On the day

Tasks to be done will include:

making sure the hall is clean and tidy
setting up the hall, fetching tables and chairs in consultation with the caretaker
obtaining and setting up a PA system and a scoreboard
providing packs of answer sheets for each round, plus pens for each table
checking that the quiz master has everything required for the quiz
setting up the bar
organising the kitchen and serving tables, checking plates, cutlery, etc
displaying the prizes, for the quiz and for the raffle
obtaining floats, for the raffle, the bar and the ticket sales
providing litter bins or bags

After the event

remember to let everyone know the date of the next quiz night or PTA event
thank all helpers, especially staff and local businesses that have supported the event
leave the school hall as you found it
as soon as you can, announce the estimated amount that has been raised
evaluate the event so you know what worked and what could be done better next time
keep details of the invitation letter, tickets, quantities, prices etc on file for the next time your PTA wants to run a quiz night

This information sheet aims to provide clear advice for PTAs and should be considered as a general guide. PTA-UK is committed to providing members with up-to-date and accurate information at all times so the content contained within this guidance was correct at time of print. PTA-UK cannot be held responsible for any decisions or actions taken by the PTA, based on the guidance given. For more specific advice please contact the PTA-UK Advice Line on 0845 850 5460 .

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