After students have worked hard and finally graduated from their final year at school, it can be a great idea to have a graduation dinner. This gives the students a chance to have a formal time to celebrate with the family members who have supported them through their studies. 

Here are some things to consider for when you book an end-of-year graduation function. 

Get in early!

Graduation parties are usually held in late November or December, which is a very busy time for restaurants, as many people and organisations are looking for venues for Christmas events. It can be a good idea to start looking as early as mid-year to lock in a suitable venue. You may not have final numbers of students who will graduate, but you can give an indicative number based on the number of students at the start of the year, and by looking at the ratio of students who tend to graduate after starting final year studies.

Manage alcohol consumption

If you will have students in attendance who will be under 18 at the time of the event, and so not legally able to drink, it is important to consider how you will manage this alcohol consumption. This can include having an alcohol-free event or having an event where people who are over 18 wear a coloured wristband indicating that their identification has been checked and that they have been proven to be over 18. The restaurant can often give you some guidance on the best way to do this. 

Plan the audio-visual presentations

You will probably want to have an audio-visual component to the event where you have a presentation showing some of the highlights of the year, as well as speeches by head teachers and prefects. It's a good idea to see what space the function rooms have for audio-visual equipment and to work out if you will need to bring in extra equipment such as speakers and microphones to make sure that your speeches can be heard. Often slightly more expensive venue hire quotes may also include the loan of audio-visual equipment, so it's important to be clear on exactly what is included in each quote so that you can do an accurate comparison. 

If you have been tasked with organising a graduation dinner for the students at your school, it's important to get started early. This will give you a chance to find a great venue that will allow you to have a wonderful celebration.