They’ve been keeping a lot of secrets at London’s John Paul II secondary school.

Graduating students secretly stacked the prom queen vote in favour of one girl. The prom king was tipped off on his win early, so he could practise dancing with the queen to a favourite Bruno Mars’ song, Just the Way You Are.

And the incoming queen wouldn’t tell anyone about her dress.

Friday night, all the chickens came home to roost at the school prom when the crown was given to Samantha Sands, 17.

With prom king Michael Bielen pushing her wheelchair, Sands made a joyful, courageous trip around the Marconi Club dance floor as one of the school’s most popular prom queens ever.

Sands is a sweet, lovable teen in Grade 12 with an infectious sense of humour, who usually styles her hair in a long braid that falls over her shoulder. She’s a triplet and goes to the school with her siblings, Nicole and Scott. Her teachers say she’s “a social butterfly.”

Everyone knows her. She likes pop stars Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran. Ask her if there are any cute guys around school, and the smile grows wider and her hands shoot up.

She also has cerebral palsy.

Sands has been a student at JP II since Grade 9. This semester, she takes cooking and drama. The rest of her day is spent in the company of the school’s energetic special needs staff and 12 other students.

Sands requires a special wheelchair to go to classes. She’s fed through a stomach tube.

She doesn’t speak — her eyes and smile do all her communicating.

“She’s beautiful inside and out,” said educational assistant Diana Pageot. “We’ve watched her grow from a little girl into a lovely woman.”

But things were very dark late last year. Sands slipped into medical distress and was put in palliative care. The prognosis was bleak.

She rallied and got healthy enough to return to JP II.

That courage and persistence sparked something wonderful in her Grade 12 graduating class.

Quietly, without any teachers knowing, they opened a private Facebook page dedicated to their prom night. That’s where the grassroots campaign began to choose Sands as their queen.

“When the students heard she was so close to death, it really affected them,” said teacher Kathleen Jarvis, prom staff adviser.

Sands won by a landslide.

The campaign says something about the character of the students, said school principal Dan Howard.

“I’m a proud principal.”

Jarvis said she decided to tell the prom king about his win to ensure he’d know what to do about the first dance with the queen. Bielen — who’s “remarkable”, Jarvis said — met with Sands this week. They picked the song together and choreographed their moves.

Jarvis said when she let him in on the secret, to see what he was comfortable doing, Bielen said, “it doesn’t matter if I’m comfortable — this is her moment.”

And is was. It was also an expression of love, like Bruno Mars says, “You’re amazing, just the way you are.”

jane.sims@sunmedia.ca