4 October 2010
18:0273721#1
Police were called to a school in Kent after hundreds of children walked out of lessons in protest over changes to the timetable.
Between 200 and 300 children are understood to have taken part in the protest at Dover Christ Church Academy.
Pupils said the protest was mainly about changes to the lunch hour, which meant they were split into two groups.
Head teacher Richard Williams said the pupils at the centre of the protest had later apologised to him.
Dover Christ Church opened as an academy less than a month ago.
Cars damaged
Kent Police said officers were called to the school shortly before 1130 BST.
The school gate and three or four cars belonging to staff were all damaged.
The pupils later returned to their classrooms to await collection by their parents.
A police spokeswoman said two students who were already excluded from Dover Christ Church Academy were arrested, along with a man who was outside the gates.
The excluded students were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and public order offences. The man was taken into custody on suspicion of a public order offence.
'More efficient'
Mr Williams said in a statement the incident was "unfortunate for all concerned".
"The students at the centre of the protests contacted me this afternoon to apologise, recognising that the action of some of our students did not reflect their original intentions.
"Whilst we accept that some students might not support split lunch hours, it is a widely adopted practice in schools across the UK, not least because it allows for more efficient timetabling of classes and better management of the lunch break."
Dover Christ Church Academy is sponsored by Canterbury Christ Church University and Dover Boys and Girls Grammar Schools.
It is currently waiting to hear whether the school premises can be rebuilt.
A decision on whether the rebuilding of six Kent academies, including Dover Christ Church, can go ahead has been delayed until the results of the government's spending review.
Guest 690- Registered: 10 Oct 2009
- Posts: 4,150
4 October 2010
18:0873723#2
Sorry Bob, just spotted you`ve covered it mate.
Tell them that I came, and no one answered.
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
4 October 2010
18:3073724#3
there was a news report on meridian tonight,it made top story with video footage.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
4 October 2010
18:3873725#4
i thought the split lunch breaks were all about having only so many herberts running riot in any one hour.
nice to see that the ringleaders aplogised.
4 October 2010
20:0273746#5
How dare they!! If they can't cope with a bit of change now, what are they going to do when they are older? Their hard-pressed teachers are paid and trained to make those decisions - if and when they ever get around to obtaining anything on paper that qualifies them to contribute to the conversation they can do so. Until then - make them pay for the damage, make them apologise publicly, make the names of the ringleaders known, and - slightly more controversially - exclude the ones who are preventing the others learning.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
4 October 2010
20:4273756#6
i think you may be mising the point bern, the riot/demonstration was good promotion for our town. the only thing missing was that the bloke with the ponytail out of status quo was not manning the barricades.
5 October 2010
21:3573880#7
5 October 2010
22:1573889#8
Update 5/10
Two former pupils arrested when hundreds of children walked out of a Kent school in protest at changes to the timetable have been bailed.
The teenagers were arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage and public order offences at Dover Christ Church Academy on Monday.
The boys, aged 15 and 16, had already been excluded from the school.
Pupils said the protest was mainly about changes to the lunch hour, which meant they were split into two groups.
Kent Police said the pair have been bailed until later this month pending further inquiries.
Between 200 and 300 children are understood to have taken part in the protest at the school, which opened as an academy less than a month ago.
The school gate and three or four cars belonging to staff were all damaged.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
5 October 2010
22:2073891#9
not your car though bob,you are clever enough to educate the offspring of gentlefolk.
5 October 2010
22:3073894#10
Many a true word was spoken in jest Howard. (Though I have indeed done my time in more challenging environments!)
They would not dare touch my treasured bicycle!
