Prom season is upon us, and we’re looking back at the celebration to mark the end of a school career, focusing on Caldew School in Dalston, Workington Academy Sixth Form and Solway Community Technology College.
Proms originated in the US, where they are believed to have taken place at colleges as early as the late 19th century. The word ‘prom’ at that time may just have meant an ordinary junior or senior class dance, but it soon took on larger-than-life meaning for high school students.
In the early 20th century, a prom was a simple tea dance where high school seniors wore their Sunday best. In the 1920s and 1930s, it expanded into an annual class banquet where students wore party clothes and danced. As Americans gained more money and leisure time in the 1950s, proms became more extravagant and elaborate, bearing similarity to today’s.
Competition blossomed, as teens strove to have the best dress, the best mode of transportation, and the best looking date. For girls, the designation of prom queen became an important distinction of popularity and the event itself became the pinnacle of a high school student’s social life.
Today, it continues to play a key role in the social climate of high schools, as depicted in movies, TV shows and novels.
In the UK, prior to the 2000s, many secondary schools would hold events such as a summer ball to celebrate the end of term or a leavers' ball to mark the end of school but, usually, these did not have the cultural or social significance of US-style proms.
During the 2000s, however, they became common at UK schools, apparently due to the influence of US TV shows.
Most in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland now hold a prom at the end of secondary education in Year 11 (ages 15/16) and also the end of sixth form (ages 17/18).
It is normally preceded by a pre-prom and followed by an after party organised by the students themselves.
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