My daughter’s prom night is in a week or two and apart from emptying my bank account she seems to be caught in the same panic that folks get at Christmas or on wedding days. When did it creep it’s way onto this fair island.? To me it’s always been something that happens in American movies and now it’s actually happening.

At least 10 years ago.

i started secondary school in 1996 and the final years had a prom. it had been going on for at least a few years.

+1

Jnr #1 is about to go from infants to juniors, and it’s time for “end of year tea towels” to be bought. I mean, WTF? No problem with the PTA making a coupla quid out of it, but I’d rather just pay them than end up with a rag for the garage in a year’s time.

Juniors into High school looks like a world of pain – hoodies – ball – etc. Senior prom for the neighbour’s kids involved a stretch limo. We live 400m from the school.

It’s been growing for the last 10-15 years in secondary schools, although round here it’s not been as big a deal for the last couple of years. We’ve possibly passed peak prom…

High School Musical has a lot to answer for

I wonder if it’s grew from the ever increasing need to organise everything we do. Used to just have informal parties when at school and we would call round to mates to see if they were in and just go play outside. Nowadays seems everything needs to be planned beforehand with set timings and rules.

Decades ago!

Mid nineties when I finished high school, our school had one and had been having one for as long as I was there.

I don’t think it was always called Prom but we were doing it in the 70s.

we would call round to mates to see if they were in and just go play outside. Nowadays seems everything needs to be planned beforehand with set timings and rules.

This^

I was in the process of sending our youngest round his mates to see if he could play but the wife stopped me because I hadn’t phoned the parents of his friend first!! I used to call round friends at 7am to come out and play footy when I was a kid. Used to throw stones at the window to wake him if he was still asleep.

We had one in 1981 year4, but it was called end of year disco.

Is that like a hugely expensive/showy end-of-school popularity contest with a disco tacked on somewhere?? I think Americans introduced it during the nineties. Orange-coloured spray tan was invented for this, I believe.

I left school in 1993, we had an end-of-school dance. Then we all went to the hill behind the school and drank MD 20/20 until we puked.

Pretty much the same thing.

Don’t these over indulged snowflakes ‘graduate’ now without doing a degree?
The age of narcissism is upon us.

My daughter had a graduation from nursery before she went to primary school. I was prepared to be cynical about it, but it was very sweet.

You could make it even more interesting by making the dress like i did.

I’ve been to a prom. Like an actual, real, American prom in America like you see in the movies. Sharp suits, posh frocks, and no alcohol whatsoever. It was kinda fun, apart from the PA warning when we were leaving telling us to be careful on our way home as there’d been increased gang activity in the area.

We had one in 1981 year4, but it was called end of year disco.

I left school in ’88 and I’m pretty sure it was still a “disco.” From memory it involved turning up, standing at the edge of the school hall perving over all the girls who were dancing, then going home again. Halcyon days.

I had a leavers dance and school discos. (1992 I left)

It was kinda fun,

😯

We had a disco when I left in 87.

None of us went, we just met down the pub instead.

I’m hoping that the DUP will insist proms are banned before Jnr turns 16. This government has to last just these next two years…..

None of us went, we just met down the pub instead.

Sounds like my end of school disco.

You can say no to too much expense.

I had a highschool prom in 96. But it cost us £20 and we all just got shitfaced. Andy Neil threw up on me and our favourite history teacher fell out a window, good night. I nearly got into century 2000 despite being paralytic and covered in sick, slept it off in the graveyard though.

End of school disco for us in mid 90s. It was a bit odd really, at 16 most of us were in the pub most weekends and had part-time jobs so had enough money to fund 6 pints and a pizza on the way home and here we were at a dry disco being warned not to run or dance ‘wrong’ as “jump around” had claimed countless lives in other, unnamed schools.

Nowadays I might get all whimsical about the end of childhood and such, but at the time word got around about a splinter group headed to the junior pub in town so we all sneaked out like the bored teachers we’re going to beg us to stay to keep them company on their unpaid overtime.

Just a school disco for us in 1988, terrible mobile DJ and finished at 9pm. Then some of us went off to the pub. The landlord was fully aware we were underage, his daughter was in our year, and made us all stay in the pool room out of sight whilst his wife came to take our drink orders.

I misread that thread title badly.

Used to be called the school dance in the 1960s..

Prior to it PE lessons involved learning the steps, an exceptionally cringeworthy process – who wanted to do a bloody waltz when we had the twist? 🙂

Actuality was as above, standing around getting quietly plastered while watching the girls dance, then with the advantage of beer goggles selecting a beauty for the last dance and having some quick romance behind a hedge on the way home.

Was called the end of school disco in the 80’s. Sadly that’s when Thriller was out, so PE lessons then were compulsory enforcement of learning the dance steps to that. Which is way more cringeworthy than waltz or twist.
But now it’s called prom, I assume it’s competitive dress and competitive means of transport arriving at the school disco/dance?

When did senior school become ‘high’ school?