The price of school prom is extortionate, says teen

The price of school prom is extortionate, says teenJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleAlice CunninghamSuffolkGetty ImagesResearch suggests parents can spend between £250 and £500 on school promsAn 18-year-old has said the price of attending school prom was "extortionate" after she decided not to attend her own.Giselle Bartram grew up in Newmarket, Suffolk, and decided she did not want to go to her end of school prom, which she said she did not regret. She added her sister had gone to her own prom last summer and spent £600 to make sure she could attend in style.Research shared exclusively with the BBC by the debt advice charity Money Wellness, showed one in four parents would spend between £250 and £500 on prom.'Drive people apart'Giselle BartramGiselle Bartram decided not to attend her own prom"I understand why people spend that much money, but nowadays it's a lot," Bartram explained to BBC Radio Suffolk's Wayne Bavin. "My sister went to prom and we spent £600 on her. I find it extortionate in my opinion."Prom is a tradition that has been popular in the United States for decades, but we are seeing more and more schools in the UK holding their own leavers' prom.The British Council estimates that about 85% of secondary schools have proms now in the UK.But with the increasing cost of living, Bartram felt proms were putting pressure on families and added she had seen taxi companies, hair salons and other industries ramp up prices around prom season."A big aspect of prom is how big can you go," she said."With my sister's prom, we had a whole motorbike show up, a fire engine."It is more showing off than the experience - who can do the coolest thing, who can wear the nicest dress, things like that."For people who can't afford it, it really does drive people apart." She added: "I don't think people realise exactly how much money it can actually be because £600 w...