Watch as three Hodgson Academy pupils attend prom dressed as Batman, the Joker & The Riddler

Hodgson Academy pupils Brodie Screen, 16, Harry Lowe, 16, and 15-year-old Max Nyahoe ditched the usual penguin suit for their leavers prom, which took place on Wednesday, June 26 at the Village hotel.

Instead the three friends turned up to celebrate dressed as the iconic comic book characters - Batman, the Joker and the Riddler respectively - with full faces of make-up that would rival even the most glamourous prom queen.

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When asked why he wanted to dress as Batman for prom, Brodie, who had saved up from his weekend job to buy his £100 costume said: “Because we thought it would stand out! Batman’s also my favourite superhero, he’s cool.”

Brodie’s mum, Rachel said: “Well, none of the boys have got girlfriends so they decided they didn't need to go in suits with matching ties to the girlfriends’ and also school has been a hard time for one of the boys so it was like their way of saying whatever's happened in the past, hasn't really bothered them, they don't really care what people think.”

Describing what it was like at the prom itself, Brodie said “They were all surprised! I got some compliments but it was mainly shock.

“But yeah, prom would not have been the same without the costume, it made it more fun and it gave me more confidence.”

Max also told the Gazette: “As the Riddler, I felt a sense of unearned importance as I gathered the dividends of attention due to the most people recognising me, despite my costume being the lowest effort and budget. Nonetheless I felt powerful!”

Mum Rachel added: “The prom went really well, lots of fancy cars turning up with all the beautiful girls in the prom dresses and boys in their matching ties but the biggest cheer came when Batman, the Joker and the Riddler all got out of a car. The teachers said it’s a first, they’ve never had anyone come in fancy dress before and how amazing it was! The boys had a brilliant night of fun. “

The boys were also recognised for their efforts throughout the night as Brodie won Best Dressed Male for his school house, which he says he was “surprised at”, and Max won Best Dancer for his. 

After the summer’s over, Brodie hopes to study graphic design and computer science at Blackpool Sixth Form College, Max will be studying music at LIPA college in Liverpool and Harry will be studying sports science at college.