Head puts longer day on hold

3:55pm Thursday 28th August 2008

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AN ADMIN bungle has forced a school to postpone planned changes that sparked a mass protest among pupils.

David Eyre, headteacher at Brighton Hill Community College, announced last term that the school day would be 20 minutes longer from the start of the new term in September to allow for a longer lunch break.

But the idea did not go down well with pupils, many of whom refused to attend lessons and staged a protest on the school field on July 16.

A total of 117 youngsters were suspended as a result.

Now Mr Eyre has sent a letter to parents, telling them the plan to extend the school day will not be implemented during the coming term, due to start on September 8.

In the letter, Mr Eyre writes: "The governing body met on Thursday, August 21, and agreed to delay the implementation of the new college day until 2009. Therefore, there will be no change to the day for the autumn term."

He added that the school would provide supervision of pupils for any parents who were inconvenienced by the latest decision, as long as they apply to the school in writing by September 5.

Mr Eyre's latest move comes after he told parents in a letter, on July 24, that he was rescinding the pupil suspensions.

Mr Eyre, a member of the governing body, was not available for comment as The Gazette went to press.

However, Captain Joseph Thompson, chairman of the governors, told The Gazette the decision to delay the changes to the school day was due to administrative error and not the mass protest.

Capt Thompson said: "We forgot to minute the meeting and the local education authority advised us that it would not be legally binding.

"The decision is not in relation to the protest at all. We took the decision because it was not legal to go ahead with it."

He added that the governing body will meet on September 29 to talk again about the planned changes, which can now not be implemented until the start of next year in September 2009.

The original plan that sparked the protest was for pupils to finish school at 3.05pm instead of 2.45pm.

Pupils at the school, in Brighton Way, Brighton Hill, currently take 30-minute lunch breaks in two separate groups at different times, but under the proposed change, they would eat together in one period lasting 50 minutes.

Parents of children involved in the protest said they thought the letter, which made no mention of an administrative error, indicated that pupil-power had won.

Tina Davenport's 14-year-old daughter was initially suspended for taking part in the pro-test.

The 39-year-old, of Hawthorn Way, Winklebury, said: "Mr Eyre has backed down. The kids will see this and they will think they have won because they've got what they wanted."

Paul Mason, whose 15-year-old daughter was suspended, said: "I'm surprised by the decision, very surprised. I didn't think that, after what had happened, he would do that.

"In the end, it vindicates the kids in the first place and it seems like the school is agreeing with them."