A Newport Town Councillor has pulled her daughter out of school following a dispute with the head-teacher over a mobile phone.
Councillor Sian Walker has removed her daughter Jessica, who was in Year 9 at Burton Borough School, following a meeting with head-teacher Dave Hill in which she alleges he was condescending and rude.
Councillor Walker was called to the school after her daughter’s mobile phone had been confiscated.
She said: “My husband and I went to the meeting with the headmaster and he arrived 45 minutes late which I thought was unacceptable.
“He sat on a sofa with us and was very condescending. When I asked him if he knew Jessica or what class she was in he said no and that he couldn’t possibly know all his pupils. He didn’t know what form she was in and he hadn’t spoken to her about the incident.
“Jessica wrote Mr Hill a letter apologising for her actions and said she only used her phone in the school corridor.
“When I asked him if he knew of this letter he just shrugged his shoulders and didn’t give a comment.
“That was a handwritten letter by one of his pupils and I think to not acknowledge it is unacceptable.”
Councillor Walker said she was so infuriated by Mr Hill’s actions that she pulled her daughter out of school two weeks before the summer holidays and said Jessica will start Year 10 elsewhere.
She added: “The mobile phone is not the issue; the issue is the attitude of Mr Hill.
“I have fought and fought and fought and I have now taken her out of the school and Jessica is quite happy about it.”
Headmaster Dave Hill, said he was saddened by Jessica’s departure but the school had to stick to the rules.
He said: “There were three people in the room when I had that meeting with her [Councillor Walker]. I would obviously dispute the fact that I was condescending.
“Clearly she wasn’t very happy at what I was saying. She wanted the phone back and I wasn’t prepared to give it to her.
“Pupils do not need mobile phones in school and they know if they are found using one it will be confiscated and returned at the end of the day.
“If they are caught using the phone again the same rules apply but the student gets a half hour detention.
“On the third occasion we expect the parents to come and collect it at the end of the day.
“If this continues we keep the phones for an additional period of time on a case by case basis. When it reaches seven times the student is flouting school rules.
“I am very said that Jessica is leaving because I think she was doing well in the school. However what I’m not prepared to do is break school policy on these things.”
By Joseph Masi
