FAQs

Generally speaking a workshop with 1 tutor can be for up to 35 children at a time. So a normal school class size. And that includes if you're booking our tent. If your school is 2 or 3 form entry then your options are to use more spaces to hold the additional workshops or if that’s not possible, have the workshops over a number of days. Please bear in mind that 35 is the absolute maximum. Most things are possible so contact us and we can talk you through the possibilities.

Our workshops are for every age group! If you can hold something in your hand then you can try learning circus skills.

Absolutely! We’ve provided hundreds of workshops for SEN schools, our tutors can tailor their workshops for the different abilities involved.

Absolutely! We have provided loads of workshops for Scout and Guide groups. The skills on offer fulfil the requirements for the Circus Activity Badge for the Scouts and are great for evening meets and weekend jamborees.

Generally speaking it’s best that workshops are at least 30 minutes long but longer is fine too.

That depends, for a workshop for 30-35 children you need a space similar in size to a tennis court. If the only room you have is this size then you would need to remove all the tables and chairs and clear the room to reduce the chance of injury. Even with that being done if the ceiling is low this can cause problems and reduce the amount of skills we can teach.

We can do workshops outside but it does reduce the number of skills that can be taught such as feather balancing and juggling with scarves. And if there is no alternative there’s a big problem if it rains!

Of course you can ;0) Some schools like to provide additional tutors so the children get more attention during the day.

Usually not. For some bookings, such as large events, we may ask for a deposit at our discretion.

No — our pricing has no VAT added in most situations, we have 1 tent provider who is VAT registered.

This totally depends on when your workshop is booked. If it’s during a quiet time of year when our tutor has, most likely, not turned down other work we would usually ask for the workshop to be rearranged at a mutually agreeable date. If, however, the booking is during the busiest time of year which is June, July and August then unfortunately we would not be able to provide a refund as it will leave our tutor our of pocket. Always keep us in the loop and let us know what's happening, if it's not too late we may well be able to help!

As we mention in our ABOUT section we started Elevate to provide a fair and transparent agency service for hardworking tutors/performers all over the UK. Unlike many agencies who charge a similar fee to us we only take £50 per booking for workshops, meaning that the tutor/performer receives around 90% of the fee. If you've been using a different circus workshop provider for the last few years ask them how much they pay their staff, you might get a shock!

We have tutors and performers all over the mainland UK, so anywhere from John'o Groats to Lands End we'll have someone who can come to you!

Alongside our main coverage areas, we also have dedicated pages for Brighton and Hove, Cardiff, Derby, Nottingham, Hull, Leicester, Newcastle upon Tyne, and Coventry. Don't see your area listed? Get in touch — we cover the whole of mainland UK.

All of our tutors/performers are multi-talented! They bring all their own equipment for workshops and the skills involved can include juggling scarves, bean bags, balls and clubs, spinning plates, Poi, Diabolo, flower stick, cigar boxes, feather balancing, beginners stilts and hula hoop.

Of course! That being said it's pretty simple. The day would start when your day normally starts, there needs a to be a morning break, just like the children have and there must be an hour for lunch (unless we agree otherwise). Workshops need to be a minimum of 30 minutes in length but can be longer if that suits you. We often design a timetable that starts with the youngest having 30 minute workshops progressing through the day to the eldest and slightly longer 45 minute workshops. They don't all have to be the same duration, it's up to you! If you're still not sure send us all the class sizes and what times you have morning break and lunch and we can work out one that works best for everyone!

We need 2.5 hours minimum to get the tent ready so best to allow 3 hours just in case. For a school starting at 9am we would arrive at 6am and need a representative for the school to meet us on site to show us where to put the tent. This must be level, well drained grass with no underground services underneath as our ground stakes are 2 foot long! At the end of the day it takes around 1.5 hours to pack up and leave.

We don't need anything at all! If you're arranging an event and want to have music in the tent that's absolutely fine, just have a word with the team when they arrive and they'll show you where to position everything.

If you're just having a tutor for a day or 2 then they need an space clear of chairs and tables, ideally with a high ceiling, approx. the size of a tennis court. If you're having the tent it needs approx 20m circle and if you have multiple classes we might need a second space too.

Yes. October to March is our quiet season, and it's the cheapest time to book. A 1-hour session starts from £225, a half day from £250 and a full day at a single-form entry school from £325. See our Pricing page for exactly how we work out your quote.

All of our tutors and performers are self employed but still have public liability insurance. Once a job is booked in we can send over proof of cover. Risk assessments are available to download at the bottom of this page along with our Ts&Cs and Privacy Policy.

If our tutor is close to you then we may well be able to include travel in the price but if they live a little further away we calculate travel at £0.50p per mile. Same goes for a day with our tent. We have to have it as a possible added extra to the base price but we try hard to keep our prices as low as possible.

We often have bookings for more than 1 day, if we're going to agree to do this we need to know that the site is secure, maybe the whole site is gated, or their are security cameras and/or security personnel doing patrols. If you're only hiring the tent (what's called "dry hire" in the trade) once the tent is on site it's security is the clients responsibility so please check what provisions you have in place to prevent damage or theft. If it's a couple of days at a school, we still need to know there is site security but the responsibility falls with us to ensure it is adequate. Our team will not stay on site but at a hotel close by and will return in time to start the following day(s).

Elevate Circus Workshops operates across all of mainland UK with over 150 DBS-checked, insured performers and tutors, meaning we can almost always match you with someone local rather than sending someone on a long and expensive journey. We're transparent about our pricing, we follow Equity guidelines for fair pay, and we've delivered workshops for organisations including the BBC, Sky, the NHS and the National Trust. We hold a 5.0 rating on Google and 5 stars on Facebook. But honestly, the best reason to choose us is that we genuinely care whether your event is brilliant — and our performers do too, because we treat them fairly.

Yes. Every tutor and performer on the Elevate platform holds a current DBS certificate and public liability insurance. Risk assessments and safeguarding statements are available to download directly from our website, so you have everything you need before the booking is confirmed.

Our agency fee is paid by our performers, not by our clients. For most bookings it's a flat £50, dropping to £25 for shorter or lower-value days. That means our tutors keep around 90% of what you pay — significantly more than the industry standard, where many agencies take 30–40%. Our performers know exactly what they're earning before they accept any job.

Yes. Elevate Circus Workshops is registered with Dun & Bradstreet with a D-U-N-S number of 235590553, independently verifiable as a legitimate UK business. We represent over 100 performers and tutors across mainland UK, have visited over 164 schools, and have delivered workshops to more than 11,870 children. We are listed on Google, Trustpilot, Bark.com, Yell.com and multiple educational and entertainment directories.