This year, Metrocentre are welcoming families back to visit Santa’s Elf Academy – children and adults will take pre-academy photo at our Presents & presence spot, and dance down the school entrance disco light floor to begin their festive lessons. There's a whole cirriculum of fun to be had and art classes for all before visiting Santa! All children will receive an elf hat and gift

Santa will be in his grotto from Friday 21st November until Christmas Eve! Click on the ticketing website to find the latest availability.

Santa and his elves will be working hard all the way up to 1.30pm on Christmas Eve, then they have to begin their very important job of delivering presents!

Yes, each family group will have an individual meet with Santa

Yes, all children will receive a gift to take home.

This is an all-ages event for the whole family; however, it is created with children aged 18 months – 10 years years specifically so please bare this in mind when booking.

Each session is approximately 15-20 minutes long, but up to 25-30 minutes should be allowed to include time for checking in and to purchase souvenirs. Please arrive no later than 5 minutes before the session starts. 

Tickets for Santa’s Elf Academy at Metrocentre cost £12 per child and £5 per adult at peak times, with it costing £10 per child and £5 per adult at off peak times.

The Elf Academy is located in Metrocentre, Upper Green Mall, (opposite Next, near The Village) What3Words Grotto location - ///corn.quest.gone

Tickets should be pre-booked online wherever possible. We highly recommend advance booking online to avoid disappointment. Where a session is fully booked, there may be the possibility to buy tickets last minute on the door via QR code in the event of a cancellation, but this will be on a first-come-first-served basis

Babies in arms do not require a ticket if attending with siblings, however a minimum of one child ticket must be purchased per family group and so if the only child in your group is a baby in arms, they will require a ticket. If you are attending Santa’s Elf Academy and wish a child to receive a special gift from Santa, they will require a ticket.

Yes, you will be emailed an e-ticket. You may show it on your smart mobile or make a note of the booking name and your reference number. In the interest of saving trees, we recommend not printing your ticket!

No, you can however amend the date and time of the booking yourself, subject to availability. In order to be able to amend your booking you will need to have registered for a DigiTicket user account. This can easily be done while purchasing tickets and you will be prompted to do so at the end of your transaction.

You cannot make amendments to a booking on the same day that the booking is for; however, you can amend future bookings up to 48 hours before the sessions scheduled start time.

Bookings will be made under the name of the person booking for your group. You do not need to change the name on the booking as long as the persons attending have the confirmation email and/ or QR code and know the booking name.

No more than 8 tickets can be purchased per session, which consists of no more than 4 adult and 4 child tickets. Please get in touch at metrocentre-elfacademy@bakehousefactory.co.uk if your groups is larger than this.

Tickets are non-refundable, however in special circumstances we may be able to rearrange your booking (subject to availability).  Contact our team via the email on the contacts via metrocentre-elfacademy@bakehousefactory.co.uk and we will try to help.

You can make changes to your booking online up until 48 hours before the booking date and time (subject to availability).  In order to be able to amend your booking you will need to have registered for a DigiTicket user account.  This can easily be done while purchasing tickets and you will be prompted to do so at the end of your transaction.

If you have not registered for an account our team may be able to assist you. Contact our team via the email metrocentre-elfacademy@bakehousefactory.co.uk Please note that emails will be responded to within 48 hours.

Only card payments are accepted - either online when booking, over the phone where pre-agreed or at the venue if payment was not made online or you are adding additional tickets to an existing booking.  We are not able to accept cash payments.

There are dedicated sessions for those with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) throughout the event. These sessions have been created with SEND persons in mind and are much quieter and calmer than our other Santa’s Elf Academy sessions, with a reduced capacity.

If you have any further questions about our SEND sessions or have any specific ticketing, access or support needs you would like to talk to us about, please speak to our team via metrocentre-elfacademy@bakehousefactory.co.uk. We will respond to all enquiries within 72 hours.

We recommend that you arrive at the event no earlier than 5 minutes before your pre-booked time slot.

If you are late for your booking time, we cannot guarantee entry and you may need to buy new tickets to come back at a later time or on another day (subject to availability.) There will be no refunds if you miss your booked session.

Please contact our team by email on metrocentre-elfacademy@bakehousefactory.co.uk if you have any concerns.  Emails will be responded to within 72 hours.

If your session is cancelled by the organisers, we will endeavour to rebook you onto another session.  If there are no further sessions available or you are not able to attend any alternative dates offered, then we will refund the cost of your tickets minus any booking fees.

If the event is cancelled your tickets will be refunded minus any booking fees.

You are welcome to pass your tickets to a third party if you are unable to attend your booked session.

If you choose to sell or give your ticket to another person, you do NOT need to notify the venue of the change of name, they will just need to have the booking name, booking reference number and QR code. We will be unable to help with any enquiries relating to booked tickets from persons who are not the named person who bought the original tickets

We cannot accept liability for tickets passed to a third party or any transactions between third parties.

Apologies but we cannot accept any responsibility or liability for tickets NOT purchased directly from our ticket site or website. We will be unable to help with any enquiries specifically related to booked tickets from persons who are not the named person who bought the original tickets.

Santa’s Elf Academy is an inside experience

There will be the opportunity to have a photo taken as part of Santa’s Elf Academy Experience. You will have the option to purchase copies of your photograph at the end of each experience as a souvenir from our Kiosk which is situated at the exit. 

There may at times be the presence of a professional photographer or videographer at Santa’s Elf Academy. If for any reason you do not wish for you or any member of your group to be recorded or photographed, please notify our team on arrival and we will ensure your wishes are adhered to.

The nearest toilets and baby change facilities can be found in Upper Green Mall just across from NEXT. There is also another in Upper Blue Mall, on your way to the Bus Station

There is a small area to park your buggy at the event space. Buggies are left at the owner’s risk.

The site of the experience is designed to be fully accessible. “The nearest lift is located in the blue mall near Nando’s (Lower Floor) or KFC (Upper Floor). There is another lift in green mall above M&S” . If you have any specific access needs that you would like to discuss with us before your visit, please contact our team by emailing metrocentre-elfacademy@bakehousefactory.co.uk 

Pets are not permitted inside the venue, except for registered assistance animals.

No, in the interests of health and safety, we would ask that you refrain from eating and drinking inside the experience please. 

Smoking and vaping is not permitted inside the venue.

In order to ensure that everyone is able to enjoy the experience, please ensure all mobile phones are either turned off or on silent while inside the experience.

Mobile phone photography and videography is permitted for families enjoying the experience seeking to preserve and share their memories with friends and family; however, no mobile phone photography is allowed in the room with Santa, there is an official photograph taken at the end of the experience which you will be able to purchase.

Off Peak Dates

November:  21st, 28th

December:  5th, 11th, 12th 

Peak Dates

November: 22nd, 23rd, 29th, 30th

December: 6th, 7th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th

Metrocentre has several surrounding car parks that can be used during the event; for the closest car park look for the Blue multistorey car park near the Bus Station. The external Green car park is also close to the Grotto experience by heading upstairs and turning right just before NEXT. Disabled parking is available adjacent to all entrances. All parking on the main site is free of charge.

Map/Directions

●    The Grotto is located in Metrocentre, Upper Green Mall, (opposite Next, near The Village) What3Words Grotto location - ///corn.quest.gone

●    The closest car park to the Grotto is the Blue Multistorey and Green Mall car parks

●    There are escalators and lifts just a short distance from the Grotto in both Blue and Green Mall