The school proms that can cost parents up to £1,500

IT is the US tradition Scottish pupils have embraced, sparing nothing to secure the perfect designer ball gown or flash car.

But as school proms get more outlandish, so does the price.

Some parents are now shelling out up to £1,500 on the end-of-school dance, putting huge pressure on family finances.

Now, 15 years after they were introduced to these shores, schools are trying to curb the excessive cost of school proms.

Some issue guidelines to try to stop the trend for limos. Others have cupboards full of dresses for pupils unable to keep up with wealthier students.

Marketing Professor Julie Tinson, of the University of Stirling, said each student spent an average of £200 to £1,500 on their school prom.

‘The most someone has spent on a dress according to my own research is £800,’ she said.

‘They will also often have a share in a limo, shoes, hair and spray

‘Day off to prepare themselves’

tans. For boys it often involves hiring or buying a kilt, suits and shoes and haircuts.’

The academic, who has studied the ritual for several years, said: ‘Often the girls will say, “You’re only ever going to need two dresses in your life, your wedding dress and your prom dress”. They take it all very seriously.

‘It is quite common to find they will take the day before off school to prepare themselves.’

The celebration imported from America is now the norm here, with nine out of ten secondary schools putting one on.

Professor Tinson said there was even a report of a boy being barred from taking a helicopter to his prom – at a primary school.

Dr Amanda Gummer, founder of website Fundamentally Children, warned: ‘Things that start off as adult things tend to work down to teenagers and then you get the tweens wanting them.’