Pupils suspended after war protest

Six pupils who walked out of school to protest against a possible war with Iraq have been suspended for two months.
They were among 200 students who staged a demonstration outside Blatchington Mill School in Hove, West Sussex, last week.

No others were excluded following the incident.

Parents of the six, whose suspensions last until they begin their GCSE exams, said their education had been needlessly disrupted.

But the school's head teacher, Neil Hunter, said the pupils had been excluded because of an "accumulation" of incidents.

'Vindictive'

Sally McMurray, whose 15-year-old daughter Sarah was among them, called the decision "vindictive".

She said the pupils' actions were reasonable in the context of the government's build-up to war.

Mr Hunter defended the suspensions, saying: "As a school, we were not against students making a protest.

"On the contrary, we are very proud the students were concerned enough to do something."

Before the protest, last Friday, the school had allowed those against war to circulate a petition, which was reported by the local press.

Mr Hunter said: "I told them it would be dangerous if they staged a walkout and left my duty of care. But some students felt they wanted to do something else.

"We are not against students expressing a view. However, the actions must be something which does not put the health and safety of students in danger."

The Blatchington Mill walkout followed similar incidents earlier last week in London, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, Cambridge and Milton Keynes.

Hundreds of schoolchildren went to Downing Street, while more than 200 children - some as young as 13 - are protested outside the Houses of Parliament.

A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said the Blatchington Mill parents could make an appeal, to be heard by the school's governors.

But the local education authority only became involved in permanent exclusions.

hahaha ....

I'd like to see how many protest on a weekend, or after school hours ...

Half the 'wankers' who protested at my college a while back, didn't know ****, and only half of all them that turned up went and marched ...

thats telling me something ...

lemme just say this: THAT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN TONY BLAIR CAN'T THINK FOR HIMSELF.

he is just a pawn in dubya's chess game for world domination imo. my parents are calling me a "socialist frog" just b/c im against war. yes, i know saddam is a nutjob w/ dangerous toys, but i feel that war is STILL not the answer. ive never trusted dubya, and i never will. in 2k4, im gonna vote democrat, even tho the brainless electorate of the us will vote dubya for 4 more yrs anyway, during which, immigration laws willing, i will more than likely move to a european union nation (wont be one of the 10 that is on the shortlist for inclusion tho). ive even said to my parents that living in a eu nation is better than living in the us.

WTF?!?!?! 2 months?! You get a 1-week suspension for coming drunk to school, here, for walking out during the school hours they would just write you up and call your parents.

Originally posted by K-Man
WTF?!?!?! 2 months?! You get a 1-week suspension for coming drunk to school, here, for walking out during the school hours they would just write you up and call your parents.

maybe the participation in anti-war protest is more likely the main reason?:confused:

Anti-War protests aren't illegal. It's not against the school rules to participate in a protest.

Or they could be just treated unfairly... I don't think they would be suspended for 2 months for cutting school and going home.

That is sad, I would take this one to the courts I mean.

Anyone heard of Democracy?

2 months is way over the top. A couple of mates and I were suspended for 1 day for making a flamethrower out of a lighter and a lynx aerosol can. I think it should have been a week. To be honest, I don't see the justice of taking people out of school. Sure they will remain uneducated for a week or so, but would it not make more sense if they were made to server a 2 hour detention every day for the next 2 months seeing as they probably hate school and want to go out with their mates after school.

well as the teacher said he warned them .. and they went ahead with it anyways ... I agree with some of the things paul said ... Students love protesting alot of the time not because of the cause but because they can get a day off school and make a nuisance of themselves

I failed to show at my Electronic Technology and RE GCSE's (finals) so I could watch the world cup. I'm not waiting once every 4 years to watch world class football, only to be told I have to sit in exams. I can retake the exams this summer if I wish to. I can't relive the world cup this summer. :(

I would certainly have walked out of school. Even if it was my GCSE's. If I believe in something so strongly, I am willing to go a considerable length. Plus, I think protesting against the killing of innocent people is a damn lot more important than exams which can be retaken.

Originally posted by ImmUniTy
Democracy?

Doesn't work.

Originally posted by JTNY
Doesn't work.

Neither does war.

Originally posted by voetballiefhebb
Parents of the six, whose suspensions last until they begin their GCSE exams, said their education had been needlessly disrupted.

Now that GCSE part would just hack me off. For those of u that don't know, the GCSE's are an exam all kids take when they're 16 and are about 2 leave secondary/high school. The GCSE's are the most important test you could take in the U.K, apart from the A-level maybe

Hello, my name is Rami Barak, and I love SG radio. It's my favourite Radio. LoL, did K ever play your promo in the end?

I don't think their education has been disrupted, it's mainly just coursework being finished and then study leave around this time of year.

In 2 weeks, I learnt more Spanish on the BBC website, than I did in 8 years learning it at school. There again, I have a few mates I made while in Mexico and they helped me out, going back there this summer so hopefully I will be able to string together a few sentances.

That is the biggest piece of **** ever.

What's the point of protesting, staging marches, walk out of school as a protest. It's not going to get you anywhere. Bush and Blair have already agree a long long while ago that they were going to go to war and no matter what the people that elected them think, they will still proceed in doing what they think is right.
100 million people could turn up in front of Downing Street and that still wouldn't change his mind...you're just wasting your time.

Yep, unfortunately the "Allied" forces don't listen to the tax-payers demands. It's a big load of crap that needs to be sorted.

They should be suspended as it's really no different from truancy -but 2 months is very harsh.

-C

Kids walked out of school here in support of a pay rise for teachers. As far as I know, none were suspended. Being suspended for 2 months is just stupid, no other word to describe it, no matter what the motivations were. Sometimes kids should be given a bit more credit for undertaking particular actions. I know that my presence in a protest may not influence the outcome of this stupid war, but I am going to stand up and be counted anyway.The day we give up because things are going to happen anyway, is the day the democratic ideal has been killed. And unlike Bush Inc., I believe in the democratic ideal, the foundation of democracy, the people.

But then some of the 'kids' on this forum are yet to fully mature in the social understanding department.

never knew we had goats on these forums ....

Hitman ... you know anything of this? :mrpimp:

hmm................ maybe i can get out of a few days of school myself. there's a few maths tests coming up...................

2 months?!

My friend came to school with a hangover, even said he had a hangover...and didn't even get ISS.

Erm, a hangover is nothing. It's like coming into school with a headache and feeling ill. You have to be 5 years old to drink in the UK, you have to be supervised by your/parent guardian though. If you get drunk, or even worse, alcohol poisoning, then your parent/guardians would be in deep ****.

Originally posted by Ljungberg08
My friend came to school with a hangover, even said he had a hangover...and didn't even get ISS.

yea, well people come stoned to school every day here.

yea, they do that here too...but they can't suspend 50% of the school :p

People used to do it at lunch time at our school. The idea of smoking weed is not to be on the run from bloody teachers. I just used to sit in my room and do it on my own away from everybody and just relax. In the summer I used to lay on our extension roof while looking up at the clouds or the stars and just chilling out. I miss those times. :(

Originally posted by Paul
never knew we had goats on these forums ....

Hitman ... you know anything of this? :mrpimp:

:)

Well done. Plant the bait, and the catch somes running.

What's wrong with being suspended for 2 months, that's 2 months of no school:p

Right before the most important exams of their life. It could f*ck up their future job prospects.

2 months is a lot of time without school, it's almost the same lenght as the summer holidays.

Double summer holiday. Sweet. GCSE's can be retaken though. I still think the school are too harsh.