A group of pupils' parents at a school have decided to organise their own leaver's prom after the official end-of-year celebrations were cancelled.
Kelly Sinclair, 43, and Jeanette Burton are two of three parents setting up a prom for students at St George's School in Blackpool. The school announced that the traditional end of GCSE prom would not go ahead due to a lack of paid deposits while claiming that pupils were "no longer interested".
However, parents of the 2022 St George's class pulled together and organised their own prom as a "f*** off" to the school and have even offered low-income families a lifeline to cover their own tickets following a wave of donations from the community. Kelly told LancsLive : "The school has prom every year normally.
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"They didn't have prom through Covid, and neither did any of the schools, this is the first year back obviously that have done their GCSEs after Covid. All the schools were putting prom on for the kids, all the parents were expecting the kids to have a prom.
"In January, we had an email from the school about leavers' jumpers, the money had to be in for leavers' jumpers. Then we got an email around the same time stating that they were sorting out the prom. It was already very late because usually, they start organising it at the beginning of the (academic) year.
"We got an email asking what we would like to do. Would we like a traditional prom, something in the sports hall or a breakfast, which is a bit weird because you don't usually get the option anyway."
Kelly explained how the school sent out a second email that broke down the cost of organising the prom. "They were really inflated prices, so it was already like the school was trying to put the kids off having a prom," she said.
"We then got an email saying the majority of people had voted for a traditional prom and that the payment had to be in the following Monday. So they gave parents six days to pay the deposit for the prom, but during that time the money had to be in for the school leavers' hoodies.
School leaver hoodies were listed at £25 per student and the additional prom deposit, required in the same period, cost £20 which culminated in a full-blown cost of £45. Kelly continued: "It's expensive. They then sent out the email saying prom can't go ahead because we didn't get enough numbers in. They didn't give anybody the extra opportunity or anything, that was that cancelled."
She explained how "upset" students were because of the cancellation. "They were told if they didn't get off the premises, the police would be called. So that was that, all the parents were fuming. Then the school organised a breakfast for students, sent an email out, but it's by-invitation-only, so not all the children were inclusive of that. It's just despicable really."
Despite the cancellations, Kelly and two other parents decided to organise their own prom which has been backed by the local community. "The local community has been amazing. We've had so much donated, even just people donating and buying tickets so we can say, if you can't afford to come let us know and we can give you a ticket."
So far, they have received £500 in donations from a local business as well as prom letters, 100 cupcakes, a balloon arch, a banner and even a photographer for the event. The headteacher of St George's School, Graham Warnock, said: "We are aware of a recent unaffiliated social media post regarding the Year 11 prom.
"Whilst we normally ignore social media, we felt it was important to explain the facts and the misinformation being reported. Whilst we normally ignore social media, we felt it was important to explain the facts and the misinformation being reported.
"We did not want to consult earlier as the country was still in the midst of a pandemic. We would normally release the date of the prom a year in advance but felt the situation at that time, alongside the rise of the Omicron variant, meant we felt it was not appropriate to make an announcement. Many families faced illness and financial hardship during this time.
"In January, the national picture regarding Covid was clearer - which is when we made the decision to consult parents. Based on our work to poverty proof the event we were mindful of the financial pressures this could place on families, especially due to Covid. Therefore, we listed all the hidden costs of the prom to make parents aware of the commitment. A prom is more than just the cost of the ticket."
He continued: "Despite this, we still decided to run the prom with staff making up any additional expenses so that it would be at no additional cost to families. A deposit was requested but only 47 pupils paid the deposit and the other pupils had expressed they were no longer interested in the prom. This did not make the prom viable.
"Parents and pupils were made aware that the prom would not take place in a letter dated 11th February, and no issues/concerns were brought to the Academy’s attention. Five months later a small number of parents have decided to organise a prom at short notice to families.
"Our Year 11 senior prefects requested the option of a leavers’ hoody. Parents were given an additional month to purchase these. A number of the Academy staff purchased a hoody for those families that were financially struggling.
"As is our tradition, the Year 7s formed a guard of honour and applauded the year 11s as they left the Academy. This leavers’ assembly followed the same format as every other year.
"We have once again provisionally booked a venue for next year and are seeking parental and pupil opinion. Our Pupil Leadership Team and Year 10s have formed a prom committee, and will look to fundraise throughout the year to make this affordable for all. We have announced this now to secure the venue of choice.
"Finally, we would like to thank all of the parents who have emailed and called the academy distancing themselves from the social media posts. They very much appreciate the staff in the Academy who work tirelessly to provide the children with a well-rounded education. This year we have extended the school day, run half-term and Easter school revision sessions, and provided extra tuition every Saturday for almost a year to help our children be the most successful in the country."
Matt McIver, Chief Operating Officer at Cidari Multi Academy Trust, said: "‘As a Trust with 11 Academies working across diverse communities, inclusivity is at the heart of our ethos. We fully support the democratic approach taken by Mr Warnock and his team back in February to place this decision in the hands of the pupils, parents and carers.
"It was entirely correct that given the increasing burdens on family budgets, those on which it would impact the most decided whether or not it was appropriate for the prom to proceed. With only just over 25% committing, sadly it was unviable. In a time where school budgets are also increasingly stretched, it would be a mismanagement of public funds to proceed on these numbers due to the financial liability that would place on the Academy should the event be cancelled.
"Our Trust has been made aware of, and is deeply concerned by intimidatory and threatening behaviour being made directly towards staff at St George’s, and the false, derogatory and misleading statements posted on social media. Whilst we do not normally comment on such matters, given the content, impact and harm that these actions have caused, we feel the need to reassure the St George’s community that we are in the process of working with the police, our legal advisors and other agencies to take measures as deemed appropriate against those individuals responsible."
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