Hundreds of students protest following decision to close bathrooms during lessons
- last year
Hundreds of students have launched their second mass protest at a school following a decision to close the majority of its bathrooms during lessons.
Pupils held a banner reading “human rights” on The Farnley Academy’s playing field after they were only allowed access to use centrally located loos in teaching periods.
They also chanted "we want rights!" during the demonstration where police were in attendance, which lasted from around 8.30 am to 12 pm.
Headteacher Chris Stokes earlier responded to the demonstrations, saying new rules had been introduced due to two “serious safeguarding events”.
And he said since the first protest on Friday, he had received “highly abusive, upsetting” comments, including a threat to “blow up the school with staff within it”.
He confirmed it was “clearly not the case” that all bathrooms were locked during lessons, adding: “at least one block of boys and one block of girls' toilets are open.”
But many parents backed their kids’ direct action on social media, even after they were threatened with suspension from the secondary school, in Leeds, West Yorks.
Mum of two Marie Turnbull, 35, said she was left “fuming” after her daughter was excluded for 12-days because she participated in the protests on Friday.
The beautician said: “My child was excluded from school on Friday. I’m fuming. I’ve been trying to go and find out what’s going on.
“It’s 12 full school days she is off for, and that doesn’t include weekends. I don’t understand how the school can do it. It doesn’t need to.
“It’s terrible. At the end of the day, it just doesn’t make any sense. The kids can’t control their bladder, can they?
“She’s 15 and she’s at home, but she went to the protest today. The school is one by one excluding her friends. I just can’t understand it.”
Headteacher Chris Stokes said the new measure was needed so that a member of staff was present at the centrally located bathrooms during teaching periods
And in a letter on Sunday, he criticised the “frankly abhorrent” comments made by adults in the community, adding that he had received threats to “blow up the school”.
He said: “It has brought me no joy to read some of the highly abusive, upsetting, and frankly abhorrent comments that some adults in our community have made.
“Freedom of speech does not extend to threats of violence towards members of staff, myself included nor does it extend to the desire to, in one case, blow up the school with staff within it.
“We must work together to raise young people to recognise that whilst yes, everyone has the right to have their views heard, this does not extend to taking matters into their own hands and causing deliberate harm to others.
The Farnley Academy has been approached for further comment.
Pupils held a banner reading “human rights” on The Farnley Academy’s playing field after they were only allowed access to use centrally located loos in teaching periods.
They also chanted "we want rights!" during the demonstration where police were in attendance, which lasted from around 8.30 am to 12 pm.
Headteacher Chris Stokes earlier responded to the demonstrations, saying new rules had been introduced due to two “serious safeguarding events”.
And he said since the first protest on Friday, he had received “highly abusive, upsetting” comments, including a threat to “blow up the school with staff within it”.
He confirmed it was “clearly not the case” that all bathrooms were locked during lessons, adding: “at least one block of boys and one block of girls' toilets are open.”
But many parents backed their kids’ direct action on social media, even after they were threatened with suspension from the secondary school, in Leeds, West Yorks.
Mum of two Marie Turnbull, 35, said she was left “fuming” after her daughter was excluded for 12-days because she participated in the protests on Friday.
The beautician said: “My child was excluded from school on Friday. I’m fuming. I’ve been trying to go and find out what’s going on.
“It’s 12 full school days she is off for, and that doesn’t include weekends. I don’t understand how the school can do it. It doesn’t need to.
“It’s terrible. At the end of the day, it just doesn’t make any sense. The kids can’t control their bladder, can they?
“She’s 15 and she’s at home, but she went to the protest today. The school is one by one excluding her friends. I just can’t understand it.”
Headteacher Chris Stokes said the new measure was needed so that a member of staff was present at the centrally located bathrooms during teaching periods
And in a letter on Sunday, he criticised the “frankly abhorrent” comments made by adults in the community, adding that he had received threats to “blow up the school”.
He said: “It has brought me no joy to read some of the highly abusive, upsetting, and frankly abhorrent comments that some adults in our community have made.
“Freedom of speech does not extend to threats of violence towards members of staff, myself included nor does it extend to the desire to, in one case, blow up the school with staff within it.
“We must work together to raise young people to recognise that whilst yes, everyone has the right to have their views heard, this does not extend to taking matters into their own hands and causing deliberate harm to others.
The Farnley Academy has been approached for further comment.