“Can’t wait for prom :D It’s the one time of the year where everyone’s a princess! Wear your crown sisters! This is your day” – Zara Hutton-Mills, aged 15

After seeing and hearing about a number of proms in, repeatedly, American films where the boy creatively and cutely asks the girl to prom and it finishes with everyone being happy, it is finally time for us to start planning our prom.

As part of prom committee, we need to sort out venues, dates, timing, fundraising, decorations, tickets, fairy lights, food and much more! It requires lots of commitment and teamwork as we have meetings at least once or even twice a week. However, it is extremely tiring, especially as we have to sort it all out by ourselves with very little help from teachers. We want this to be the best prom for us all to celebrate the end of GCSEs and 5 years at the same school all together and we want to make it as memorable as possible, but at the rate of school work and revision we have to do, it makes us all become very stressed out. Trying to balance homework, exams, several extra-curricular activities, physical health, mental health, eating at least 3 healthy nutritious meals every day (not just binge eating junk food!), spending time with family and arranging prom on top of all this, it can become quite overwhelming. Further, since we are 15 or 16, buildings that we are looking to hire might think low of us since their first thought may be that we are ‘irresponsible’ or ‘unorganised’ which will make them less likely to hire their property out to us. In addition, we need to look after lots of money from fundraising and ticket selling and this could be risky since it could easily get lost or stolen. So, surely the school should organise prom?

However, if our school sorts prom out, they will not get any input from students and so they will not know what we will want in our last party together. Yes it would be so much easier if the school arranges it, but it just will not be the same as we want to show team effort as it is our last year together.

Currently, we set the deadline of finding our final venue by the end of October and start selling tickets mid-November. However, we are still looking at venues and so unfortunately, we will be extending the deadline but hopefully by not by too much. We have also started fundraising; we had a bake sale at the beginning of October and next we are holding an accessory day where you can wear your own Halloween themed accessory to school for £1. I have to say, being part of prom committee does feel quite cool since its one of the only things we are responsible for and it is all down to us to sort it out. But of course, it is stressful, but I am sure it will all be worth it in the end. Better start looking from prom dresses and prom dates!