With high school pupils being forced to miss out on their final farewells due to lockdown regulations, a radio crew has stepped in to save their dream of having a magical prom.

St Bees Village Radio has extended its offer of a socially-distanced prom to schools across the county, in a bid to give them the goodbye-to-high-school they deserve.

With DJs lined up and ready to go, pupils are encouraged to don their fabulous dresses and smart suits, head to a friends’ house, tune in, and dance the night away in their gardens - in a socially distant way.

Commenting on the updated prom plans, set to take place on June 26, radio team member Charles Bagshaw said: “My intention for the radio was to keep people amused, and so that they didn’t feel alone during isolation.

“One thing that we have certainly learnt during all of this is that people do not need to be together in person to share something special.

“With this in mind, and really feeling for these school leavers, we felt we were able to do something for them.”

Kicking off the night will be DJ Zoe, opening the event from 6pm to 7pm with ‘the red carpet’, followed by Ton H from 7pm to 9pm with ‘kickstart your prom’, and from 9pm to 11pm, DJ Blackie will be taking over with ‘disco the night away’.

Zoe said: “[A student] told me that she’d already bought her dress and shoes, had all her beauty appointments booked for it, and how sad her friends and her were that it was cancelled or postponed.

“More than anything, what it appeared she and others her age were more sad about was the ‘right of passage’ of completing school. No signing of shirts, no celebrating at prom with each other.”

She continued: “It is going to be such a great event for all the pupils but also for us at the radio.

“I feel like trying to fit into my old prom dress myself and pretending to be a teen again.”

The prom will take place from 6pm to 11pm a week on Friday, and pupils can tune in to the village radio at stbeesradio.co.uk – and have a blast saying goodbye to high school.