Angry parents hit out as heartbroken students not invited to Sunderland prom night

Staff at Castle View Enterprise Academy were forced to cancel the 2020 prom due to the pandemic but had told students and parents that they would re-arrange when lockdown eased.

However as restrictions continued, parents were refunded and told in January that if the prom for the current Year 11 students goes ahead in 2021, then last year’s group would be invited to attended.

Now the Castletown school has announced this year’s glamorous celebration, but angry parents say 2020’s Year 11 students are no longer welcome despite ‘dangling a carrot in front of them for months’.

Castle View Enterprise Academy has since told the Echo they are planning a ‘separate celebration event for last year’s students’ – but parents say they haven’t been told this.

Mum Marie Hall, says she was told fears of ‘underage drinking’, concerns over supervision and that the school was ‘no longer responsible for the former students’ are behind the decision.

Marie, whose daughter Milly missed out on the prom, said: “Had they got in touch with us beforehand and said unfortunately under extreme circumstances we can’t go ahead with the previous Year 11 students at the 2021 prom then we would have understood.

"My daughter is hurt by it, she thinks they are not interested in her and they’re not bothered about her.

"She’s devastated about the prom but I think she’s more hurt by the way the school has treated her.”

Parents have forked out hundreds of pounds on dresses, suits and all the accessories that go hand in hand with prom night.

Linsay Boylen, who is mum to Emily Ellwood, added: “It was that little thing they still had to look forward to. Everyone has struggled through the pandemic and every child has missed out on school and seeing their friends but Year 11s have missed their last day at secondary school, missed sitting their exams and their leavers jumpers. They’ve lost out on a lot.

"To change their mind without telling us is unfair. They should have emailed us first before it was announced to the current students.”

Janet Brown, CEO at the school, said: "We, like everyone, hadn’t anticipated how long the pandemic would last and so we had originally hoped to be able to hold a prom at a later date, perhaps even as a joint event with the current Year 11 students.

"Sadly, we are still subject to some Covid 19 restrictions and we are working hard in school to maintain bubbles and support our current Year 11 students through this difficult period.

"As a result of these Covid 19 restrictions and to ensure that we safeguard our current students, we are unable to hold a joint prom with the students who left us last year.

"Instead we are planning, subject to any guidance around Covid 19, to hold a Covid safe prom for our current Year 11 students and a separate Celebration event for last year’s students.

"We are sharing our plans with students and parents and, of course, have refunded any payments made by last years students towards the prom.”

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