This year, the academic year in Ukrainian schools will end on May 30. For eleventh-graders, this is the period of final preparations, final grades, and decisions about the future. Despite the war with shelling and constant air raids, proms are still being prepared – in different formats, with different durations and atmospheres. They are especially important for children living in the frontline regions. Many students finish school not in their homeland, not in the usual classes, but in new cities, in foreign countries, sometimes online. But at the same time, in many schools, the tradition of the graduation evening is preserved, although its format, place and mood have changed a lot. In different parts of Ukraine, the selection of outfits, waltz rehearsals, and attempts to make this day special are going on, despite the restrictions, loss, and lack of resources.
In the conditions of martial law, each community and school makes its own decisions regarding the graduation, taking into account the security situation. Somewhere it is an online presentation of certificates, somewhere it is an in-room solemn presentation of documents in the shelter hall, and somewhere, in safer regions, full-fledged festive events are being prepared. There are many formats, and all of them have one thing in common – an effort to preserve the moment of farewell to school, which is important for teenagers and their families, despite the reality of war.
Often, graduation takes place in the afternoon, without evening banquets and long gatherings. Some schools hold ceremonies in multiple streams to reduce the number of attendees. In the border and front-line regions, graduations are prohibited or allowed only in closed shelters that meet the requirements of the Emergency Situations. Decisions are made at the level of city military administrations, and parents are usually informed in advance.
In Kharkiv, where the threat of rocket attacks remains constant, the last bells in all schools will be held online this year. About this reported Director of the Department of Education of the Kharkiv City Council, Olga Demenko. According to her, the decision is related solely to security considerations:
“Because, first of all, for us it’s the safety of children, it’s children’s health, and we won’t celebrate in schoolyards, given the security situation.”
As for proms, they are planned in face-to-face format, but only in locations that meet security requirements.
“It will be festive, it will be solemn. All districts are planning it, we will reward the best children.” Demenko said.
That is, even in extremely difficult conditions, the city government and educational institutions try to preserve the traditional elements of the end of the school year, while not exposing children and teachers to risk.
Against the backdrop of graduation preparations, the commercial offer is also actively changing. On average, the cost of a graduation outfit for boys and girls starts from 1,200 and reaches several tens of thousands of hryvnias. At the same time, in 2025, many stores and marketplaces have adapted their assortment lines to the demand for prom dresses.
Many of them offer collections of dresses and suits with discounts, specially marked as “last call” or “for graduation”. This allows families to find affordable options even on a tight budget. The cost of dresses in the budget segment starts from 1,200-1,500 hryvnias, suits for boys – from 2,000 hryvnias, and second-hand or re-stitched clothes are also popular.
Despite all the difficulties, the graduation of 2025 remains an important event for many families. It doesn’t have to be loud to be meaningful. In each school, graduation looks different, but everywhere there is an effort to mark the transition to adulthood. And the fact that children prepare waltzes, choose ribbons, sew dresses and write thanks to teachers is not about tradition for the sake of form, but about the inner need to preserve something familiar, human and important at a time when many other things had to be given to the war.
