College lockout sours the class of 2010’s farewell
Saturday 29th May 2010, 2:30PM BST.
Some of the forty-plus Ladies’ College sixth-formers locked out on what was effectively their last day at school. (Picture by Steve Sarre, 0977437)
ABOUT 45 Ladies’ College sixth-formers were locked out of school yesterday over fears they would cause disruption on their last day.
Some students went in at 6am to prepare for the big day – the last before upper sixth students go on study leave to prepare for their A-levels.
But when problems arose, the gates from the school field to the main school were locked and students were left angry and upset.
None of the students wanted to be named for fear of disciplinary action. However, a 17-year-old spokeswoman said they were bitterly disappointed with how the college had reacted.
Principal Jo Riches said there had been complaints from the public about the pupils’ behaviour. She understood that pupils had been jumping into the road, throwing flour at cars and acting in a generally unsafe manner. That was unacceptable and she hoped it would not be repeated in future years.
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This is rediculous, where has all the fun gone in this world, it saddens me. I was pleased that none of the behaviour from any kids caused any lasting damage. Good on em for getting the balance right. Celebrate your successes students you’ve worked hard
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Oh dear! What on earth is happening to our youth…in my last day at school we hung underpants from the statue of the school founder and carried a Reliant Robin, owned by one of the teachers, into the middle of the rugby pitch. All harmless fun of course…but we would never have dreamed of throwing flour…the shame of it!!!
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Well done girls ! You should be able to go a little crazy on your last ‘official ‘ day at school without ‘panic/horror’ reactions. No harm done. It’s a very special day for you ………………. good luck in the forthcoming exams and for the future.
Blanchelande Girl, St Martins, who left school in 1968 ( now very old !!!! )
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The first flush of adult freedom is probably the most exciting thing a young person can experience…and it usually has its first day of glory on the last day when you leave the discipline that was school…so lid removed you find efferescence and effortless enthusiasm ( and all the other e’s)…it is a bit rich Jo to try and force the lid back on again…face it, Ms. Headmistress, they are no longer in your camp of control.You can bet your bottom dollar, they will all, or most of them,end up being as conservative as you would have hoped, in their later adult life.!
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a tad OTT me thinks, but those boys from elizabeth college are no saints – me and my children witnessed a large group in town, drinking beer then running and shouting down the High Street! my kids now know a few swear words, thanks to them!
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Why does the Guernsey Press indulge kids in this way? You can’t blame kids for anti social behaviour then give them the front page every time they are told no by their teachers. First St Sampson High mufti day and now this, you have your part to play too so act like the grown up GP!
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Flour and Marshmallows, the teachers must have been terrified!!! Some of those girls have been at the school for 14 years, excelling in exams and a credit to Guernsey, still the head and senior staff don’t trust them to do the right thing! It seems the head needs to get a grip on her staff before they become a laughing stock.
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the last time i remember flour being thrown in guernsey was with eggs about 25 years ago and we got nicked…………
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They’re there to be educated so perhaps they learned something that day ?
Anyway don’t talk to me about education!
My neighbour’s daughter was a Ladies College pupil and one year when a group of them were going on a trip to Spain she was caught packing a dozen condoms in her suitcase and the silly girl hasn’t even got a willy!
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Up to a point I agree with the comments that the teachers may have been a bit OTT,but as a parent of a younger child at the school, the attitude of some of the girls concerned me. Using words like ‘victimized’ – they wouldn’t know the meaning of the word! There is a fine line between high self esteem and arrogance, it should not have been a case of either side having to back down, teachersa are not a ‘side’ to be challenged, they are the people in authority and should be seen as such.
Can you imagine the backlash if one of the pupils had been run over!!!
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I think Vic Gamble has pretty much hit the nail on the head with his second comment. Leaving school is a bit of a rite of passage for these young people – probably the first time they really feel like adults.
There’s bound to be a bit of exuberance as they ‘throw off the shackles’ and cross the border between childhood and aduldhood and as long as they don’t put anyone at dangerous risk then let them be.
They’ll calm down soon enough when the realities of adult life hit them with a vengeance!
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It all seems to get a little silly on this island. The smallest thing hapens and everyone is up in arms. We should praise them for raising the sales of flour ten fold in this recession. And I agree with Derek good on them enjoy there time at school as those are the days you remember.
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Ray , i like your style !!!
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“a gang of youths wearing hoodies today gathered on the Bridge and were seen to throw flour at passing cars. Locals were outraged that police did not attend to arrest them”…
Sounds a bit different in this version, doesn’t it? Now have a big think about whether your excusing the behaviour of the young people in the GP story is in some way related to their gender, class, or their parents’ wealth.
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That’s a very fair point James and it certainly made me think and question my attitudes. After giving it some thought though, even when excluding the factors you mentioned there is a difference between kids of any class/gender/wealth:
- letting off steam at the end of years of hard work and
- throwing flour at cars because “there’s nothing else to do Friday night.”
So, although I totally accept that there are cases of wrongful prejudice, in fairness I would’ve said exactly the same thing if the article was about a group of lads from Les Beaucamps or St Sampsons finishing their GCSE year or vocational students from the College of FE finishing a course in mechanics or hairdressing. It has nothing to do with their background at all – just the reasons for their exuberance.
I know kids from comparatively rough backgrounds who work extremely hard at their studies and are training for excellent vocations. OK they won’t make headlines with 4 As and an Oxford scholarship but they are equally commendable examples of Guernsey youth – if not more so given their circumstances.
If anything, the prejudice we need to address is the wrongful assumption that kids causing trouble always come from deprived backgrounds, and kids being successful are always well off college kids.
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James
Get your facts straight and don’t necessarily believe what you read in the Press.
No flour was thrown at passing cars, nor was it ever going to be. None of the girls’ activities were in public, in any way unsafe or vandalous.
Therefore it has nothing to do with your perception of their ‘class’ or ‘parents’ wealth’.
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Teachers the caring profession.
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James
your point is spot on.
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Are you sure it was a “Ladies” College?
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Teachers need to grow up, and get to grips with children. I bet half of the staff don’t have kids of their own.
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Typical, James so very short sighted blaming it on class!! It is not their fault they go to a good school as their parents want them to have good education. It was all a bit if fun and I believe in years past there has been much worse !!!
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none of us can really comment unless we were there as this article does not really provide enough information.
exuberance at the end of term within the school and amongst themselves is fine – but not if it spills out into the street and affects people who have nothing to do with the school.
if the events were the former, then the reaction was OTT. if it was the latter, then James’ comments are spot on. If a pupil had thrown flour at cars driving along the road, they should be arrested, no matter what uniform they were wearing and no matter whether it was end of term or not.
But I suspect that this is not what actually happened.
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I was actually there and confirm that no flour was thrown at passing cars in any way. Some cars had flour on them in the odeon but it was only students getting flour on each others cars. Anybody trying to make this a class war is short sighted and narrow minded. I just feel sorry for the girls with Jo locking them out. Once again my praise goes to all the students for making it a great day for all. Closing point, once the students have left school they are nothing to do with the school, if they are drinking and allowed drink then that responsibility falls on the people who served them!
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This seems to be an annual problem as the sixth formers celebrate their passing from late teenage schoolgirls into blossoming young ladies.
The headmistress should consider taking on temporary staff to patrol the grounds during that final week.
I should think about £100 for the week would suffice especially as that is all I could afford.
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Nice one Ray, where do I sign up.
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GG teachers don’t need to have kids to “get to grips with them”. They are professionals who train for two years before they are qualified. Some of them have more clue about what their students get up to than the parents do. They’re there to educate them, not mother them or pander to their wims. Teachers should not have to argue with students, if a teacher decides that something is not acceptable to do on school grounds or whilst the child is in uniform then the teacher should be listened to.
Perhaps if the girls (and boys from down the road) hadn’t ignored their teachers’ decisions then maybe this whole silly saga could have been avoided.
Having fun on your last day is one thing but do it within the rules or do it outside of school hours/out of school uniform. They were only in school until 11am, surely it wouldn’t have been too much of a stretch to wait until then to start throwing flour around? Common sense is needed on both sides!
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Ray, do you mean Zoo masters? They’re not animals…
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As a former College student I think this is ridiculous! There is a long standing history of mock-up days at the colleges and even Grammar. I remember these days back as far as 15 odd years ago and they were always taken with good humour by the teachers and anticipated by the younger students. It was a good way for the students to blow off a little steam and wreak some fleeting havoc before they go off and sit the most important exams of their college education.
Yes there needs to be some moderation if things descend into vandalism or public disruption but I don’t think it did in this case and the Headmistress obviously didn’t feel comfortable enough in her reasonably new position to ignore a couple of over zealous members of the public. I’ve seen and heard about a lot worse happening on these days going back to previous generations but it is a matter for the school and certainly not news worthy!
As for these ludicrous notions of a ‘class war’ it is irrelevant and totally fictitious. A lot of us were Scholarship students, not everyone’s parents were well-off enough to pay for that education. Don’t launch into unfounded attacks on peoples class or wealth without first understanding their backgrounds.
I hope this incident won’t spoil the day for future students and wish them good luck in their exams.
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This “incident” was caused entirely by the school’s poor communication with the students, aggressive attitude and overriding concern with “reputation”. The girls were locked out upon arriving at school at 6 am, before any flour fights with the boys, and later locked in the school field without explanation. The students were ambushed instead of being reasoned with days or weeks before hand, and were understandably upset that such pettiness had ruined their, and the younger students, fun.
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You forget that these pupils are no longer children but 18 year old young women who have fulfilled their school career with their teachers and in most cases have now become friends with them.
Flour was not thrown at the public at any point and whatever was going on at the odeon was to do with EC.
There are may scholarship students at LC who worked hard for a place at the best school on the island. If you have enough money to pay for such a good education then lucky you!
‘Victimised’ – I’m sure you know how the GP elaborate!
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By the sounds of some comments, there is a general impression that the students disobeyed the staff, but there were no “ignored decisions” involved. As far as the girls knew the school was in full support, having given no reason to suspect otherwise. After weeks of organisation (of which the staff was fully aware, even encouraged and at no point intervened) the management decided to surprise the students upon their arrival in the morning. They did not wait for problems to arise before locking them out of the school but seemed to punish in anticipation of bad behaviour. The teachers were also largely in support of the girls, believing the management team’s rash reaction ridiculous and disruptive.
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When I left school two years ago, our head boy’s car was wrapped in cling film, yet he did not press legal charges or have a press interview exclaiming how attrocious particular students behaviour was. I feel the Guernsey Press reporters need to realise end of school tension between students and teachers is not a new issue, and is one that is bound to rear its ugly head in the future. And that is that.
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When i was at school somebody brought a knife in on the final day and wave it around in Delancey park.
Everyone involved victim or otherwise got threatened by Mrs Tetlaw that she would prevent us sitting our exams.
That never made the papers!
Heck not TEH FLOURZ LOL!
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Quick, call Strasbourg! Call a Clinical Psychologist! A top paid EU Lawyer!
Chil-drun are in the media again, complaining that they’re having their rights abused by the nasty adults.
Poor little darlings, they’ll probably never recover. They should sue for millions.
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120 | June 3, 2010 at 11:08 pm
“Flour was not thrown at the public at any point and whatever was going on at the odeon was to do with EC.”
You are completely wrong, the flour in the odeon was when the girls went down to throw flour at the boys – after they’d been kicked out..
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‘You are completely wrong, the flour in the odeon was when the girls went down to throw flour at the boys – after they’d been kicked out..’
It was only thrown at the girls involved and possibly a couple of the boys cars. The boys soon took the flour off the girls so they went back to LC, I don’t know what the boys did with it after that.
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Were’nt St Sampsons at school on this day?
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