Last updated 22:42, Saturday, 12 July 2008

YEAR 11 pupils from Maryport’s Netherhall School celebrated the end of their GCSE exams at a prom in the Washington Central Hotel, in Workington.

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EVERYONE IN THEIR PLACE: Luissa Pike, Stephanie Easterbrook, Lorraine McCrossan, Hannah Coiles, Sarah Birkett, Faye White and Chelsea Towers

They swapped their school uniforms for glamorous ballgowns - blue and pink were the most popular colours - dinner jackets and bow ties, and even kilts to enjoy a night to remember before going their separate ways - back to school, on to college or into employment.

Anna Gorley, who had arrived at the prom on the back of a motorbike with an entourage of 26 bikers, was elected Prom Queen, with Dale Hannay as Prom King.

Other teenagers arrived by car and stretch limousine, with crowds of parents watching from vantage points on Washington Street.

The events, popular in the US for many years, are becoming an established part of the West Cumbria social scene, with many schools holding them as a rite of passage for their pupils.