IT IS the night teenagers dream of, a chance to end their school days in a blaze of glory.

Students spend months preparing for the big night, planning everything from their hairstyles to their mode of transport.

Parents spend hundreds of pounds dressing and preening their sons and daughters, transforming them into prom kings and queens.

But some Hampshire teens are not making it to the ball as schools across the county increasingly ban pupils for bad behaviour.

They say the practice helps motivate year 11 students to behave well and work hard towards their GCSEs in the months leading up to the final send-off.

But families of banned pupils say the practice is unfair and that all students should be entitled to go to the prom.

They include relations of Georgina Macaulay, who, as the Daily Echo reported yesterday, was barred twice from Hounsdown School prom at Botley Park Hotel.

The 16-year-old from Buckthorn Close, Totton, who is expected to achieve A*-C grades in her GCSEs, said that she was banned from going to the prom after scoring too many behavioural points after being sent out of class at the beginning of year 11 last autumn.

Georgina claims that she worked hard to turn things around and even wrote an apologetic letter to her head teacher.

Hounsdown School teachers noticed her efforts and with just a week to go she claims they assured her she could go.

She rushed out to buy a dress and have her hair done only to be turned away on the night.

Georgina said: “I felt like I had been given so much false hope.

"I was devastated.

"For me it was a really important thing from a young age."

Continued on pages 32 and 33.

I thought it would be fun and they turned me away.

“I tried my hardest to turn things around. They shouldn’t have said if if they knew there was any way I would be turned away.”

Students from Hounsdown School, in Totton, who want to attend the prom must receive fewer than 10 behavioural points per term, have fewer than one detention per term and not be excluded, maintain good punctuality and attendance and complete all of their exams.

Georgina’s aunt Dawn Pond, 43, from Totton, who works for the Rainbow Trust children’s charity, said: “If you’re going to have a prom for the end of year it should be for everyone.

“It’s not right to punish people in this way. Kids do things and the teachers don’t know what background they come from. They misbehave for different reasons. They shouldn’t take away things that make them feel valued.”

Georgina’s dad, Marc, 44, a carer, said: “I think it’s disgraceful. I understand that kids are naughty but kids are kids at the end of the day.

“The teacher said she had come on really well and that they think the world of my daughter.”

Meanwhile a young couple from Winchester were also barred from their prom after one was seen with a boy smoking cannabis.

Ares Franco, 16, was suspended for a day after being seen with a group smoking outside Henry Beaufort School, where they were pupils, which parents said caused her and her boyfriend Ed Clements, 16, to lose motivation for their GCSEs.

Henry Beaufort pupils receive a stamp in their diaries for good behaviour after every lesson. Pupils who fail to get enough stamps are excluded from the prom.

Ares said: “I’ve been looking forward to this for five years and because I was standing next to someone smoking, I can’t go.”

Ed’s mother, Kasey Clements, of Tudor Way, Kings Worthy, said: “One case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and all their hopes and dreams of the ball with all their friends have been dashed.”

Schools say they warn students of the criteria for attending the prom at the beginning of their final year.

They say the practice of barring students from the event if they do not meet standards helps prepare them for the outside world as they learn there are consequences for their actions.

Hounsdown School associate head teacher David Veal said: “All consequences of both good and poor behaviour are designed to have a positive impact on both the school as a community and students learn the rules of polite society so schools think long and hard so that the balance is right and consequences for behaviour are dealt with correctly.

“We all want students to learn that in any society there are inevitably consequences for behaviour, whatever it is. We need to work with students in slightly different ways as they get older and mature.

“How we treat them is really important. It’s difficult when there are consequences that are difficult for students but that’s the same for adults.

“Pupils and parents were given information about the prom and the criteria at the beginning of the autumn term. We speak to students a lot about it because we want them to understand the criteria so communication is really important.”

Jason Ashley, head teacher of Redbridge Shool in Southampton, said their students work towards a set of Passport to the Prom targets which aim to encourage pupils to attend classes and any additional lessons they’re invited to while maintaining their efforts in classes and exams. He said decisions as to who can attend the prom can be negotiated depending on individual circumstances.

This year a quarter of their 200 year 11s did not meet their targets, while 150 were invited to the prom and 90 students have tickets for the event at Chilworth Manor on July 9.

He said: “Like everything it’s about the value of the reward. Schools should reserve the right to withhold prom places if they haven’t met the criteria.

“I think it motivates the students. The students will talk about the prom from year nine and spend thousands on it. At Redbridge we like to give parents as much warning as possible so they’re not out of pocket.

“We run something called Passport to the Prom which relates to the efforts students take in year 11 and the reality is that the majority of students meet their targets. We make it very clear in year 11.

“Where students haven’t been successful we can have a meeting with parents about their expectations. We get to know the students as individuals so we make a decision based on individual cases.”