School prom night saves by church after Mar Hall power cut

Pupils left disappointed after a power cut cancelled their prom at Mar Hall had their night saved when a church stepped in as an alternative venue.

The group from St Peter the Apostle High School in Clydebank arrived at the luxurious venue at 6pm, around 20 minutes after a power cut in the area.

Pupils were served drinks and their starters in a marquee outside as Scottish Power arrived at 7.30pm but the firm could not guarantee the problem would be solved before 11pm.

Instead of ending the evening early, the school managed to transport the children to St Stephen's Catholic Church in Dalmuir after help from the parish priest.

Head teacher Linda Booth said: “I am so proud of our young people who demonstrated such maturity in what was a very disappointing situation for all.

“I am very grateful to our staff, our parents and our wider community who all pulled together in order to ensure our pupils still had a great evening despite their understandable disappointment and frustrations.

“St Peter the Apostle High School has confirmed Mar Hall has agreed to fully refund pupils for their prom, which was moved to St Stephen's Church hall following a power cut at the hotel.

“The hotel also confirmed it will reimburse the school for additional expenditure to cover travel and food at the church hall.''

A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Glasgow said: “It was great that in their moment of need, the young people turned to their local parish and even better that the priest and parishioners were able to help them out on such an important day.

“It was a case of school and parish working together for the good of the young people.''

A Scottish Power spokeswoman said supplies were affected around Bishopton after a high voltage cable fault in the area.

The issue caused problems for 200 to 300 customers, including Mar Hall, with the majority of those back by 7.20pm.

The venue was among those left without power until just after 11pm.

The spokeswoman added: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused.''

A spokeswoman for Mar Hall said: “The power went off at 5.38pm in PA7 and PA8 postcodes including Mar Hall Hotel. Prom guests arrived at 6pm and we informed the headteacher immediately on arrival of the problem.

“Scottish Power arrived on site at 7.30pm and, after discussion, they could not clarify the problem and could not guarantee the power would resume before 11pm.

“At this point our general manager had a discussion with the teachers and it was decided to cancel the rest of the prom due to health and safety concerns and a duty of care for our guests.

“It was also confirmed to the teachers that Mar Hall would be delighted to host the event complimentary at a suitable date.

“If a reschedule date is not achievable we would be happy to refund the cost.

“We are extremely sorry for what happened but unfortunately the situation was beyond our control and there was nothing further we could do to resolve the situation at the time and ensure the safety of our guests."