A teenage girl was told she can't bring her girlfriend to prom and the internet is furious

Prom is a rite of passage for most teenagers.

Often the biggest night of the year, where they dress up and celebrate with their friends.

17-year-old Paula Goodgame from St. Petersburg, Florida had been busy preparing for one of the biggest nights of her high school career - until she got some bad news on Wednesday.

After receiving an email from her school guidance counsellor, Paula discovered she wouldn't be able to take Anjali Persad - her girlfriend of four months - to the prom, because the school has a policy against dates of the same sex.

The Catholic school's official prom guidelines state that "escorts must be of the opposite gender" but as a new student, Paula was unaware of the rule.

The school requires all guests bringing dates that aren't students at Saint Petersburg Catholic School to fill out a "Prom Guest Request Form".

Paula's girlfriend, Anjali, is a student at a nearby private school.

Since tweeting a screenshot of the email, Paula has had floods of support from the LGBTQ community on Twitter.

People have also been emailing the school Principal, Fr. Rich Rosin, objecting to the "unfair", "ridiculous", and "offensive" policy.

Speaking to Buzzfeed, Paula said:

I just transferred here and I don't exactly have too many friends, and that added on with the social anxiety of prom makes me feel like prom would be awkward for me. Because of that and news I heard from my friend, I was asking for confirmation if I could bring my girlfriend to prom. That way I could have a familiar face in the crowd and be with my date.

I took the response as a huge surprise because of how rude [the email] was. Especially because it was coming from someone I'm supposed to confide in.

Paula's girlfriend, Anjali said:

I really love all the love and support we've received since the tweet blew up.

It's been really amazing watching the LGBT community stick up for each other

I hope that all other LGBT students in our situation can find courage to stand up for themselves and for others so we can find equality for all.

The two seem to be in strong spirits still, posting affectionate messages to each other on social media.

Correction 04/04/17: A previous version of this article identified the principal of the school as Bruno Fernandez - this was incorrect has been amended to read Fr. Rich Rosin​.

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