A mother has expressed fury after her child's school informed her she must pay £15 to take home her child's artwork and £2 per ticket to attend the exhibition where it will be displayed. Selina Jayne Weaver-Sidwell took to TikTok to vent about what she called the 'latest scam' from her child's school.
School's Artwork Fee Sparks Anger
Selina, who goes by @selina_jayne128 on TikTok, shared a letter from the school inviting parents to a 'special exhibition.' She explained that the £2 ticket fee grants access to view the artwork, but to actually purchase the original framed piece, parents must pay an additional £15. The school also noted that multiple pieces per child would be displayed, so parents wanting extra framed artwork would need to send in another £15 each.
Selina said in her video: "Remember the artwork your kids used to do? They used to put it on the wall for parents evening and then shove it in a bag to give you to take home..." She added that the school knows parents will feel pressured to buy the artwork because their children will ask if they think it's good and if they will purchase it.
Parent Questions School's Motives
Selina, who pays £9,000 a year in school fees, argued that the school is not short of cash. She said: "But they're so broke they're having to sell my kid's artwork back to me." The post garnered over 2,000 likes and sparked a heated debate in the comments.
One commenter defended the school, saying: "Do you realise it's to raise money that will benefit your own children? It's not like the teachers are pocketing it." Selina hit back: "I pay £9,000 a year for her to go there. The school isn’t short of cash that benefits my child."
Other Parents Weigh In
Another commenter argued that £15 is not a lot to cover costs, but Selina countered: "It is something different every week. I don’t mind paying the £2 and every other week sending in stuff for raffles and buying Christmas cards, £2 for own clothes days once a month, the fundraising events, buying cakes we can’t eat etc. It’s the £15 per piece that is a little far fetched. There are families in the school who have a few children there and this cost can rack up."
Many agreed with Selina that the fee was excessive. One parent wrote: "My kid's school charges £1 and it’s a piece they make specifically for the exhibition. £15 is a joke." Another quipped: "Tell them the artist wants their prints back and it's a copyright issue – the cheek of it." Someone else asked: "Surely the artwork belongs to the child?" And another echoed: "It’s not their artwork to sell."
One parent shared a similar experience: "My son's school did this in high school, I did not buy them, end of term those pictures were sent home!"
