Disappointment as Oasis Academy Lord's Hill prom cancelled

On Wednesday, Oasis Academy Lord’s Hill announced in a letter to parents that the 2020-2021 Year 11 prom would no longer be going ahead.

The school said that the decision came after careful consideration over whether the event could go ahead safely “in the current national pandemic”.

The prom was planned to take place on July 21 but now the school says it has been cancelled because of worries around “the safety of year 11 students”, the fact there has been cases of Covid-19 across several year groups in the last month and following advice from Public Health England.

• Several students at Oasis Academy Lord's Hill told to self-isolate

In the letter to parents, the Principal, Benjamin Bond, said: “We have looked at alternative later dates and options, but we feel that the right decision is to cancel the event at this point, in order to give finality to our students.

“I can confirm that all ticket payments will be fully refunded before the end of term.

“I apologise for being the bearer of bad news, but I sincerely hope that your child is enjoying their chosen post-16 course at this time.”

Oasis Academy Lord's Hill. Photo from: Google Maps.

Now though, parents and pupils at the school say they are disappointed with the cancellation seen as the event falls after the easing of restrictions on July 19.

One parent, Rebecca Lewis from Maybush, said: “When I read the letter yesterday it was a huge shock.

“Me and my partner have already bought my daughters dress, shoes, bag, everything. I can’t return half of it.

“No children at school have had an easy 18 months with everything that’s going on in the world.

“They’ve been working really hard still in a really difficult time and they deserve to have something good happen.”

Rebecca added that she has now written to the head of the school, as well as calling on other parents to do the same.

Now parents are considering putting on an event themselves but say it’s not an easy thing to do.