PhilD wrote on 09 February 2013 10:46:06 ...
On Feb 9, 12:08 am, "Richard J." wrote:
Offramp wrote on 08 February 2013 21:33:31 ...

"....HAS gone down."
Can't be a good school!

"Set of lights" implies plurality, so "have" is perfectly good English.

Ah, but it says *A* set..., which is then singular.

Of course it says "A" because "set" is a singular noun. But "a set of
lights" is the compound subject of the sentence, and clearly refers to
several lights forming a set, all of which were out. In British English,
a collective noun like "set" can be followed by either a singular or
plural verb.

See the Fowler's Modern English Usage article on 'agreement'.
--
Richard J.
(to email me, swap 'uk' and 'yon' in address)