PULTEVENT
End-of-year school party: 8 games and moments for a leavers' night on the big screen
The last Thursday of July, half past six, the school hall. Thirty Year 6 leavers in shirts signed all over with felt-tip, parents lining the walls with phones held up, and Mr Hughes, who has taught at the school for twenty-two years, looking at the projector screen with an expression of real alarm. On it is a photo of a baby in a knitted bonnet, and underneath, the question: "Which member of staff is this?" Thirty hands go up at once. Every single one of them is pointing at him.
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The end of the school year, and especially the end of primary or secondary school, is one of the few events where children, parents and teachers are all genuinely in the same mood. Nostalgic, a bit giddy, slightly sad. The leavers' party should catch that without turning into two hours of speeches. Games on the big screen do that well, because they're built out of the year itself: the trips, the teachers, the in-jokes, the photos.
PULTEVENT runs from a laptop plugged into the hall projector, and a teacher or a parent volunteer runs it throughout. Some rounds are played from phones via a QR code, with no app. Those phones need internet. Year 6 children often won't have phones, so those rounds are played by table, with a parent's phone per table. Older leavers in Year 11 or Year 13 can use their own. Several of the best moments need no phones at all.
8 ideas for an end-of-year or leavers' party
1 The class photo welcome
The leavers' class photo on the splash screen as families arrive, with "Class of 2026" and confetti over the top.
How to run it. Swap between this year's photo and the same class in Reception, if the school has it.
Parents stop at the door, see their child at four and at eleven, and reach for a tissue.
2 Guess the teacher
Baby and childhood photos of the staff, one at a time. The room guesses which teacher each one is.
How to run it. Ask the staff privately a month before. The head teacher going first sets the tone for everyone else.
Children seeing their teachers as small children is a genuinely delightful thing to watch.
3 The year in review quiz
Questions about the school year, answered by table from phones: where did we go on the residential, what was the name of the class hamster, who won sports day.
How to run it. Ask the class teacher for twenty moments from the year and turn the best into questions.
It's a memory test that feels like a trip back through the whole year.
4 The school timeline
Events from the last seven years to put in order: the Reception nativity, the school's new playground, the Year 4 trip to the castle, the day the fire alarm went off during SATs.
How to run it. Mix school events with things the children will remember from the news or their own lives.
Seven years of school suddenly feels short when you see it laid out.
5 Kind class awards
Live voting from phones for class awards: most likely to become a teacher, best laugh, most likely to be famous, kindest classmate. The results appear as the votes land.
How to run it. Every award must be positive. Run the categories past the class teacher. Make sure every child is likely to be mentioned somewhere.
Children leave with a reputation for something good, voted by their friends.
6 Messages from teachers past
Short video messages from teachers who taught this class in earlier years, including the ones who've moved schools or retired.
How to run it. Ask the Reception teacher first. Their message is always the one that makes the parents cry.
The children hear from adults who knew them at five and are proud of them at eleven.
7 Karaoke battle, leavers versus staff
The leavers pick a song, the teachers pick a song, the hall decides.
How to run it. Warn the staff at least a week ahead so they can rehearse, or at least pretend they haven't.
Teachers singing badly on stage is the thing the children will talk about in secondary school.
8 The leavers' credits
End credits roll up the screen: every leaver by name, every teacher, the TAs, the dinner staff, the caretaker, the parents who ran the cake stall.
How to run it. Double-check the spelling of every name. This is the one screen parents will film start to finish.
A proper ending that includes everyone, which is exactly what leaving should feel like.
Made from the year itself
Photos, trips and in-jokes from the class, not generic party filler.
Teachers as the stars
Baby photos and video messages from staff get the biggest reactions.
A grown-up at the laptop
A teacher or parent runs the whole thing from one laptop at the front.
Every name on screen
Credits roll at the end with every leaver's name. Parents film it.
Two hours, three parts
A leavers' party in a school hall usually runs about two hours: arrival and food, the main entertainment, and the last half hour of dancing and goodbyes. Put the photo games and the quiz in the middle section, the awards and the teacher messages just before the dancing, and the credits at the very end.
Don't try to fit everything in. Four or five of these, done well, will be what they remember.
Year 6 or Year 13
For primary leavers, keep phones to one per table held by a parent, keep the quiz short and have plenty that runs from the laptop alone. For secondary leavers, let them play on their own phones, turn up the competitive side and give them more control over the music and the awards categories.
In the US the same idea works for an elementary or middle school graduation party, or the last day before summer break.
Phones and the school network
Any phone that plays needs internet. School Wi-Fi often blocks unfamiliar sites, so ask the office to check with IT in advance, or rely on parents' mobile data for the table phones. If the phones fail entirely, the photo games, the teacher messages and the credits all still run from the laptop.
Being careful with photos
Get consent for every photo of a child that goes on the big screen, the same way you would for the school website. Most schools already hold this. For baby photos of staff, only use the ones they've chosen to send.
"Did Mrs Clarke really agree to this one?"
"She chose it. She said it was her best look."
Who runs it
A teacher who knows the class, or a parent volunteer with a bit of confidence. They sit at the laptop at the front and drive everything: photos, quiz, votes, music, credits. Ideally they are not also the person giving the speech.
Try it before the last week of term
The last weeks of term are hectic. Load the photos and write the quiz early in the free 3-day demo, no card, and run it once in the hall after school. The full version is a one-time licence with no subscription, and you'll use it again next year. Pricing is at pultevent.ru/en.
About the author
PULTEVENT was built by Ruslan Barashkin, who has hosted weddings, birthdays and office parties since 2014: over 500 events, best host of Moscow 2024 and of Saint Petersburg 2023 at the TOP 100 Awards. He made it for his own nights first. The rest is at pultevent.ru/en.
How to run an end-of-year school party on the big screen
- 1
A month before, collect staff baby photos, teacher video messages and twenty moments from the year.
- 2
Write the year-in-review quiz, the timeline and the kind award categories.
- 3
Put the class photo on the splash screen and type every name into the credits.
- 4
On the day, connect the laptop to the hall projector and check the phones can get online.
- 5
Run the photo games and the quiz, then the awards, the messages and the karaoke battle.
- 6
Roll the credits at the end, then let the dancing take over.
FAQ
Is this for primary or secondary leavers?
Do the children need phones?
Can staff join the games?
What about photo permissions?
Does it work for a US graduation party?
Can we reuse it next year?
How much does it cost?
See also
Run brighter events — with PULTEVENT
All audience interactions, a second screen and timing in one app. Guests join by QR — internet is needed for you and for them.
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