The choice of venue is probably the most important decision to be made. I believe the current proposal may not include the best place to hold it. My main reason being, that it is not easy to get to for all pupils, as it is not a very central part of Cardiff. I would therefore propose that the prom be held at a more easily accessible venue, for example the Angel Hotel in Cardiff City Centre.
Secondly, I believe that the music is one of the most important factors of how smoothly the prom will go. I would propose that a professional Disc Jockey ought to be hired out for the night, as this would ensure that the music is enjoyable for all pupils and not just an unsystematic jumble of songs.
The date of the prom is very hard to decide as there are many factors that should be taken into account. I personally feel that the prom should be pushed back until the end of June, mainly because having it this early may take people’s minds off their school work. Although this is true, in June the GCSE’s have just finished and some pupils’ priorities may not have been on their exams but on the prom. Taking into account such things as, how closely the prom is to the GCSE’s and that many pupils don’t see the prom as a real leaving party. I would strongly advise pushing back the date of the prom to early July.
Moving on I would like to draw your attention to the time of the prom. This is very hard to decide on but I would just like to mention that after the prom many pupils will need to have access to safe transport home. After midnight, with many parents not able to collect this may be hard to find. Subsequently I would propose the finish time be prior to twelve o’clock.
I would also like to comment on the pupil’s safety during the prom. This I believe is extremely important and so should have a higher budget, to hire private security guards and to produce numbered invitations for each pupil. The reason this is so important is that we would all like our pupils to enjoy themselves completely free from harm, and with doors open to anyone this could not be guaranteed.
The next point has probably been the most controversial subject in the prom’s planning and discussions. This is that of whether the pupils should be allowed to smoke, as most of them will be old enough. I would say no to this as it can be extremely harmful to fellow pupils due to passive smoking. As there is no smoking allowed in the hotel another exit must be provided for a dedicated smoking area thus jeopardising the safety of the other pupils.
With the safety of pupils again in mind I would stand by your decision not to allow people from other schools to attend the prom. This is a school prom for the pupils of Corpus Christi and should not be open to people unknown to the school, where the authority of Corpus Christi staff could be questioned.
On the subject of drink I am sure I do not need to mention that the consumption of alcohol is prohibited as all pupils are under the age of eighteen, although I would propose that breathalyzers be issued to the security staff just in case a pupil must be denied access due to alcohol.
Finally I would like to wish you the best of luck and I am sure that the prom will be a huge success.
Yours faithfully,
Mike Webb
