Head refuses to reward Year 11’s with a July Prom? Any ideas?

DDs prom was meant to be next weekend. It was cancelled 2 weeks ago (the day after we collected her dress ).

2 days later, following Snapchat and Instagram conversations between some of the kids 2 parents got together and decided to plan their own.

They started a FB page for the parents of the [school name] year 11 leavers which was advertised initially on the town’s FB page, then word of mouth. They set up an email and asked parents to email them with the name of their child if they were interested in going.

They toured 2 venues and secured one for a prom at the start of August. They locked the FB page and posted the names of all those who had signed up, asking for DMs for those who had been missed.

Payment (only slightly more than the school one) was requested by bank transfer to a bank account set up for the event and last night it was confirmed that everyone who had requested a place had one (originally it was going to have to be ‘names out of a hat’ as the venue was slightly smaller, in the end the venue was able to accommodate the same number).

Parent volunteers are doing much of the organisation and set-up, from cleaners to photographers to entertainment and so on. People have pulled together and it is a sight to behold.

It can be done and I am indebted to these parents who went for it - DD was gutted when original prom was cancelled and is now over the moon (and tbh, the new one promises to be better than the original!)

OP Just remember last year year 11s had 2 days notice of their final days. Many weren't in due to self isolating.
No Prom obviously or leavers assembly at all so I don't think they were better off.

I guess it depends on the venue & whether they feel they can comply with the current Covid rules. DD prom is due just a few days before our new "freedom day" gutted as the hotel have understandably cancelled. School have suggested they hold it on school grounds, hoping this goes ahead as they deserve something positive to look forward to.

I'm seriously confused as to why some have been cancelled and some are going ahead.

@libbytrois there is a DJ at my DCs prom

Wow, so many proms still happening! Any dancing?

@Loshad yes we are in England and DC has his prom this Friday still going ahead. It's in an outside barn in a field.

Yes in England, all outside, but was scheduled to happen early July. Makes me so cross when I see football shenanigans etc.

In England? Assume it is outside completely.

@libbytrois my DC year 11 prom has just received confirmation of still taking place next weekend.

libby Yes, we had an email yesterday. It wasn't unexpected but I'm really sad for my DD who has had a terrible year and the thought of prom was the one thing she has been looking forward to.

Anyone else had their child's year 11 prom cancelled because of extension in restrictions to July 19th?

It’s all irrelevant. The decision to run or not run an optional school event lies with the Head. The Head said no.

Now your options are to suck it up or organise your own independent event without school involvement. Moaning about it won’t change the Heads decision or your options.

Just caught up...
They didn’t have a prom last year but they had a risk assessment in place- the same one the tweak every single year for a prom in the very same venue.

I have done the hoodies and yearbook myself for other DC (several times!) and it really isn’t that difficult. It’s data inputting.
Missed deadline? Tough. Changed your mind about colours? Tough. A deadline is a deadline.

Not secondary residentials, but primary ones, yes. About 5 of them. I really don’t find this kind of thing difficult.

Our venue doesn’t want teacher chaperones. They never do. Sometimes teachers have bought tickets and come dressed up for photos etc but then they leave. Once again, it is that same one the school have used for many years. The venue has a security team which is included in the price of the tickets.

And as I have said, us parents are more than willing to do any of the very minuscule stuff the venue isn’t doing itself eg set up the flower wall... hardly taxing.

Yes it was horrid for last years y11 to miss out, but that doesn’t make it ok for this years to miss it too, especially after they have lived in a state of anxiety and uncertainty over their exams for the last 15 months v 15 wks.

My daughter's school had a vote among the current Year 11 students. The result (somewhat surprisingly, given it was the kids voting) was 60:40 against, so she and her friends are organising something themselves.

I am bowing out gracefully! To anyone with DC in year 11, I hope they really enjoy whatever well-deserved celebrations are offered to them to mark the end of their GCSEs.

[quote Foosterin]@paralysedbyinertia
events organised by kids or parents do not have the same accessibility as those organised by the school. A HT does not need to hold a prom, in fact I have mixed feelings about big, expensive proms myself. But this idea that they owe nothing to year 11s beyond marking their exams, I find that very disappointing. All schools should be holding a leavers' event of some sort.[/quote]
But why should they hold an event of some sort? Why can't they just have their last day and that be the end of it?

@paralysedbyinertia
events organised by kids or parents do not have the same accessibility as those organised by the school. A HT does not need to hold a prom, in fact I have mixed feelings about big, expensive proms myself. But this idea that they owe nothing to year 11s beyond marking their exams, I find that very disappointing. All schools should be holding a leavers' event of some sort.

Nobody is saying that the kids don't deserve an event. We are merely saying that it's the HT's prerogative to decide that they aren't going to organise one.

The kids don't have the "right" to a prom. It is a nice-to-have extra, and not the school's main priority.

Schools might decide not to hold proms this year for a whole variety of reasons - lack of capacity to organise, insufficient number of staff volunteering to attend, health and safety concerns, knowledge that many parents will struggle to afford a prom, concerns that it might be cancelled at a late stage after money has been spent and kids have got excited etc. That is a decision for the school to take.

If parents don't like the school's decision, then they can organise something themselves. I really don't see why this is such a big issue.

I think an event organised by kids or groups of parents is more likely to be cliquey and/or inaccessible to all the kids. All schools should have the capacity to organise something, aided by kids and parents as needed. I don't really understand the strength of feeling that says kids don't deserve or shouldn't expect an event.

Got some mail yesterday and so far 50% have paid a deposit so well over 100 people
They only needed 100 to secure the venue

@00100001 Weird that you've quoted me twice with 2 contradictory comments. It's pretty clear I've also said they (kids and parents) should just sort it themselves. It's not rocket science.