London’s poorest students hire supercars to ‘show off’ at prom

Teenagers in one of Britain’s poorest boroughs are hiring expensive supercars to help celebrate the end of their school days.

Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Bentleys are being rented by 16-year-olds in Tower Hamlets, East London, for their National Record of Achievement (NRA) ceremony, a prom-like event that marks the end of compulsory schooling, the Mail Online reported in 2013. The Daily Star reproduces this content because it is socially trending.

Many of the cars would cost more to buy than homes in the area.

These Lamborghinis, Ferraris and even Bentleys on the gritty streets of East London were rented by 16-year-olds to celebrate leaving school, and they proudly admit it's all about 'showing off' and getting time in the 'spotlight'.

Tough upbringing: Reyaz Rahman, 16, poses in Tower Hamlets, in front of homes that are worth less than some of the cars on show. Photo: Reuters

The vehicles can cost up to £300,000 to buy, yet one bedroom flats in some parts of the borough are worth as little as £70,000, the UK-based daily reports.

The group wanted to head to their National Record of Achievement (NRA) ceremony in style, and found this spectacular to attend their prom-like celebration.

'It's showing off, basically. Playing music, going from area to area to area,' said Foyzur Rahman, a pupil at Swanlea School, who attended the ceremony this year and split a £400 fee with a friend to rent an Audi S4 for four days.

'Showing off your car, just everyone looking at you. It's like your spotlight,' Rahman said.

Sharing a joke: Aisha, 16, talks to fellow pupil Tanvir Shahriyar, 16, next to his hired Ferrari, on the Rickman Street Estate during Morpeth School graduation day. Photo: Reuters

'When every NRA comes you just feel excited for the kids,' said Ibrahim Hussain who went through the rite of passage last year and works part-time at his brother's car-hire business, which rents out vehicles for the ceremonies, the daily reported.

'Certain people obviously don't want to spend the money, you can understand that, their parents might be not working. But certain kids, obviously, they're crazy, they'll save up from young and they just want to hire it,' Hussain said.

Tower Hamlets is home to the largest Bangladeshi community in Britain, and the majority of pupils taking part are of Bangladeshi origin.

Abdul Hasnath, a senior youth worker with the Osmani Trust youth and community organisation, said the prom-like celebrations probably caught on 14 or 15 years ago, with pupils hiring limousines, but have gotten more lavish - and expensive - since.

'It was quite small at that time, but obviously now it's probably the biggest date on their diaries, including Eid (the Muslim holiday) and everything else.' he said.

The students, who at 16 are too young to drive, were chauffeured through the neighbourhood either by drivers connected with car hire companies or by friends or relatives.

Clad in evening wear, they pose for pictures before attending the NRA ceremony at school, during which awards and certificates are distributed, and then head out for the night.

Many of those in the more expensive rides switch later to 'after-cars' - saloons or larger vehicles - which they can travel in together, often getting involved in road races. Videos of the day, set to pounding hip-hop and R&B soundtracks, are posted on YouTube.

For some teens, the substantial sums are hard to get together. Stephan Bolompa, a student at Swanlea, said that when he first approached his mother with the price of booking a car, it was too much to take from the family budget.

In the end, he was only able to go to the ceremony in a showy ride thanks to a friend's mother, who borrowed a Range Rover Sport for free with the help of a company connection.

Getting the vehicle meant a lot to him: 'Just the feeling that you're actually taking part in the ceremony by having a car, it's a good feeling,' he said.