Year 11 Prom – Thursday 3rd July 2025
Dear Parents and Carers
We are looking forward to celebrating with Year 11 at their Prom on Thursday 3rd July 2025 at The Grange Hotel, Old Gloucester Road, Winterbourne BS36 1RP. We are very excited for the event to take place for our students to celebrate their passage of time through Hanham Woods Academy and we hope that the information enclosed in this letter will help you and your child prepare for the event appropriately.
Attendees and Invitations:
Only Year 11 students who are on roll at Hanham Woods Academy on Thursday 3rd July are invited to attend the event. Please ensure that you have paid the remainder of your balance for your child’s ticket by Monday 2nd June. Tickets will not be issued until this full payment has been received.
Please remind your child that their behaviour, attendance, attitude towards learning, punctuality and commitment to attending GCSE intervention sessions continue to be monitored and rewarded with ensuring that they are able to join us for Prom. Academy leaders reserve the right to withdraw your child’s invitation to Prom if they are not adhering to our Academy behaviour and attendance standards.
Start Time:
The prom begins at 7:30pm. We would advise that, due to the number of cars arriving at the venue, you aim for cars to arrive between 6:40pm and 7:20pm. Students will be welcomed into The Grange Hotel from 7:30pm and are registered on entry. Parents/Carers and guests are very welcome to come to the venue to watch the arrival and entrance of students and share in this photographic opportunity. Please note, that students will not be allowed to bring guests into the venue or grounds after the welcome photographs and parents/carers should remain in the designated viewing area at the start of the event.
Collection Time:
The Prom ends at 10.30pm and we expect all children to have been collected to return home/attend their own additional celebrations by this point. As with previous years, most families arrive to collect children between 9:45pm – 10:15pm (most children leave between 10pm – 10:15pm). Please ensure that you and your child have made suitable travel arrangements so that they are not ‘stuck’ at the venue at 10.30pm with the Hanham Woods Academy teachers who will be completing the cleaning up duties from the event!
Dress Code:
Trousers and shirt (full suit/tie/bow-tie optional), or dress (please consider the length/cut of the dress) form the dress code for the event. Please be aware that jeans/casual wear are not appropriate clothing choices for this event, but trainers are permitted!
Safety and Screening:
Once your child has arrived and had their photographs taken at the start of the event, we will invite the children into the main room so that they can commence their Prom celebrations. To ensure that all children can enjoy their evening safely and sensibly, there will be a screening process that will take place as your child enters the venue. Please ensure that your child does not bring any prohibited items with them to the event e.g., vapes / alcohol as they will either be confiscated or result in you being asked to collect your child so that they can return home with you.
Alcohol:
There is a strict no alcohol policy at this event. However, your child will be able to purchase soft drinks during the evening. Please be aware that if any students arrive at the Prom in a condition that suggests they are under the influence of alcohol they will be refused entry by security staff, and you will be asked to collect your child so that they can return home. In the unlikely event that this happens, there will not be an option to request a refund for the event.
Photographs:
There will be a formal Prom photographer at the evening enabling students to have individual/group or friendship photographs. No money is required for photographs during the event as all the photographs will be available to purchase via the photographer’s professional website from the following day. A group photograph will also be taken.
Use of The Grange Hotel Estate/Outdoor Areas:
The hotel has large gardens/grass areas that are not lit or monitored at night. Once your child has arrived at Prom and entered the venue, they will be able to celebrate with their friends inside the ‘Prom Hall’ and use the adjacent outdoor patio area. Please advise your child that they will not be able to explore additional parts of the hotel or invite additional guest to visit the venue (E.g., The grass area at the front of the hotel / car parks / additional gardens at the rear of the hotel). This is to ensure that all children remain supervised and safe throughout the event. If there are any children who are struggling to remain in the agreed areas, we will contact parents/carers so that they can be collected and return home with you.
After Parties:
Each year and across many schools, there are often a group of children who wish to attend an ‘after Prom party’ that is not managed by the school. Whilst these parties are typically well spirited and positive events, it is important that every child is kept safe. Whilst we do not encourage or advise children to attend after parties, if you agree for your child to attend an after party, please ensure that you make clear arrangements for their travel to/from the event, checked who will be supervising the event/when the event will end and that you have appropriate contact details so that you know where your child is and how you can contact them.
We hope that all our students attending the Prom will really enjoy themselves and that it will be a wonderful and memorable evening. We look forward to celebrating with the Year 11 students and wish them every success in their exams.
Kind regards,
Mrs Tushingham | Vice Principal
Miss Thorne | Year 11 Pastoral Leader
