Research School Network: Fashioning belonging outside the classroom Dress2Impress: making prom accessible for all

What do we mean by belonging? The following quote from Allen et. Al is a helpful starting point.

​‘The extent to which pupils feel personally accepted, respected, included, and supported by others in the school social environment.¹​’

But what makes a pupil feel accepted, respected, included, and supported will be different and will differ in terms of which aspect of the school environment is being considered. Such complexity means that building belonging in schools surely needs to be addressed in a variety of ways: whole class teaching to encourage belonging in the curriculum; the role of the form teacher for social and emotional support; extra-curricular clubs and of course shared experiences to help feel included.

Prom is one of those shared experiences but the costs are potentially significant Cost of living: Are high school proms too expensive? – BBC News and create a pressure to meet perceived social expectations. This is a pressure that might be felt by everyone, but perhaps most keenly by children in receipt of Free School Meals.

Against this backdrop, Huntington’s Applied Business year 12 students saw as an opportunity to:

- Support disadvantaged pupils (and others) to access prom at a more reasonable cost

- Encourage sustainability

- Complete some genuinely useful coursework

Dress2Impress originated in a classroom conversation about how many students still had their year 11 prom outfits sat in wardrobes, having been used only once. Needless to say, the vast majority admitted this was the case. So, in Autumn 2024 it started with donations from 6^th formers and staff of now unwanted formal wear. It grew to include generous offers from prom boutiques across the country and companies like Moss Bros providing bespoke suits that have never been collected by customers.

A year 11 Prom Fair was held in March 2025 with all items available for rent between £30-£50 (and free to those eligible for FSM). 52 items were borrowed, representing around 20% of the year group. The outfits were returned after the prom, with 6^th formers also striking up a cut price deal with a local dry cleaners to clean returned items.

Suddenly, the year 11 prom is now an event that is accessible for all and the project continues apace:

- An onsite, defunct Portacabin on site has been refitted (using profits from the Prom Fair) to set up a shop, staffed by the sixth formers

- Bookings are already being taken for fittings for the 2026 prom (plus other events like interviews and weddings)

- The cohort for the business course has grown from 7 in 2024/25 to 26 for the 2025/26 cohort as the success of the approach has attracted new interest in the course

Reflection points

1. What shared experiences are crucial to building belonging in your setting?
2. Are those experiences as open and accessible to all pupils as you would wish?
3. Who is able to take a lead on such work?
4. How does this tie in with other aspects of building belonging e.g. within the classroom?

^{1​‘School Belonging: The Importance of Pupil and Teacher Relationships’ (Allen et al 2021)}