WHEN the UK’s sixth-form colleges and secondary schools started having proms at the end of the school year many people dismissed this as over-Americanisation.
The idea, though, plainly has much going for it with pupils who relish getting dressed up. It has also provided a shot in the arm for a variety of commercial companies like Moss Bros, which has just announced three times more profit than usual and largely attributes this to the proms’ market.
I suspect eveningwear shops, hairdressers, beauticians and hair gel manufacturers are similarly clapping their hands with glee over this pretty harmless trend.
It’s parents I feel sorry for. They not only have to fork out for posh new outfits for their daughters and sons but often stump up for a limo to get them to the do as well.  Perhaps schools should organise a similar parents-only bash at the same time as a useful fundraiser – and because they’re worth it.