THE CLASS of 2020 at both Amery Hill and Eggars schools in Alton are set to go to the ball after all – with two school mums busy planning a glitzy end-of-year prom at Old Thorns Hotel this July.

Like many landmark occasions, proms went by the wayside in 2020 as the pandemic put a stop to mass gatherings and parties – leaving students with an anti-climatic end to their seven years at secondary school.

One mum, Sally Powell, said she was brought to tears when her son Dylan, 16, ‘graduated’ from Amery School last summer with little more than an email from his headteacher.

And now, having run events in aid of charity Dreams Come True in Alton for several years, Sally has teamed up with fellow Amery Hill mum Rea Burr to give students of both Eggars and Amery Hill the send-off they deserve.

The Class of 2020 Celebration Prom will take place at Old Thorns in Liphook on Thursday, July 22, with tickets costing £40 each – and funding potentially available for struggling families.

The evening will be run as a traditional school prom, including a sit-down, three-course dinner followed by a professional disco, with capacity for around 400 students.

Sally and Rea do have a challenge to notify students, however, with both schools unable to share families’ contact details.

School proms have taken on huge significance in the UK in recent decades – giving Year 11 school-leavers a chance to celebrate completing secondary school with the friends and teachers before taking their next steps in life.

For more information, or to book a place at the prom, email Sally on [email protected] “as soon as possible”.