Good thing! First lesson in living in the real world after school... you want a limo and a suit/dress etc you need to earn some money to pay for it
Well, my eldest has just had his prom and loved every minute of it. But this got me thinking. When did we start having proms? We didn't have anything like this when i left school. All we got was a load of scrawl over the shirt you was wearing and home.
Prom expectation, bloody limo, suit, money for the venue.... Are these really necessary this day and age.??
Are they good or bad?
Good thing! First lesson in living in the real world after school... you want a limo and a suit/dress etc you need to earn some money to pay for it
We had two "do's" when I left school at 16 (as opposed to 18 in the US where this influx of proms stems from).
One was for the whole school and was a barn dance in the gym hall. Already had fairly well-practised wallflower skills even then
One was for prefects (yes, I was one, but at least I wasn't head boy like someone else I could mention!). They took us on a canal boat cruise along the Thames, followed by a barbecue (with booze laid on!). I managed to annoy all the "in" girls by getting the attention of the rather cute chap steering the barge (I was so not one of the "in" girls!) , and then nearly crashed the barge when given the opportunity to steer it...
I then learnt a valuable lesson in life at the barbecue. If you're going to suggest that someone is a bit p!issed to your mates, do check behind you first to make sure that person (particularly if they are a teacher) isn't standing right behind you
proms ? they have these in the UK ? Do we have graduation ceremonies too now?
It's my 16 year old's "Prom" tonight. Her older sisters school had a "Leavers Ball" at the end of the 6th form that has been a tradition since their public school started taking girls.
I think it's fab. They have brought 3 dresses. One for the prom, one for the "after party" and another that she changed her mind about. After the change of mind I gave her a massive budget and sent her and Sue plus older sister and prom-date to Bluewater shopping centre. They still called me to tell me about the glittery shoes. It was lovely, I felt like I was there - shopping by proxy, just as expensive, but kinder to the feet
I mean on top of the cost then there is pics to pay for. Here is my son on the left with two of his mates.... but looking at all the pics scarily the girls look over 18 and some of them older. They are all 16 and its just blimey, i didn't look like that at their age. I was lucky if i had two pair of trousers to wear and most of them were made by mum LOL....
It sort of grates me at the demand of having to let them do it and the cost demand. Its like, well, this is what we are doing and it goes without saying that its just expected that they will be doing it.
Still, , this is one of the pics i'll be ordering.
I think proms have been happening here for as long as I can remember. I loved my prom! Getting to see all of my fave male teachers in suits... Parents evening was a trying day for me, to see all of them in their suits, and I had to behave myself! Prom, on the other hand, was a different matter
But seriously, I think proms are a great idea... very expensive, but totally worth it. The memories you have will stay with you forever. A great way to end school. My school didn't let us take anyone who didn't go to our school though which was a pain, as I was engaged and couldn't take my fiance with me! Was still a magical night though - went with a group of friends instead I hope your son has as good memories from his prom as I do from mine
Lou x
Agree that having a party or prom at the end of school is a good idea, but why does it have to be expensive? It's only because we're importing the American style prom surely?
And, out of curiousity, are people doing it at age 16 or 18 over here these days? In the US, they all tend to leave school at 18. Here we have that dual age thing - if the kids leave at 16, then technically they shouldn't have any alcohol (although see my posting above - we did, but can't imagine that happening these days), and they wouldn't be able to drive, so a much more chaste affair. If it's left till the kids are 18 and post A-level/highers, then it's just going to be for those more academic kids who stay on at school. That hardly seems fair.
The most expensive part of prom is buying your outfit i.e. dress. Then there is hiring the limo etc to go there... not everyone hired a limo though. And, we got a limo between 6 of us, so it wasn't as expensive as it would have been if there was only 2 people... I can't actually remember if it was expensive to actually pay for prom itself i.e. meal etc Months of preparation went into that day. It was definitely worth it though.
I turned 18 a week after my prom. But I was still drinking when I was there Everyone was, whether they were 18 or not Prom happens at the end of your 6th year at high school. So, anyone who left before then wouldn't be able to go. I didn't really agree with that as I had a lot of friends who left in 4th year, and 5th year and weren't able to go
My school always had a proper 'do' for the 18 year-old leavers, but it wasn't called a Prom (I think they called it Leavers' Ball or something). There was drinks first, a sit-down dinner and a disco afterwards. We didn't have limos or anything though, and we took our own photos, so the only extra cost was the dress.
It was our first formal grown-up 'do' so it was quite a big deal and we all looked forward to it for months. It was a great way to celebrate after exams and say goodbye to the friends we'd been at school with. I've still got the photos... (..my dress was truly fabulous and hasn't dated at all, but not sure about the hair..)
I think a formal 'do' is a fun and special thing for kids to look forward to after exams, but I'm not sure about all these extra costs like photos and limos etc...seems a bit unecessary?
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