They Can’t Have No Education
Hastings Academy expels 11 pupils after protest “disturbance”
HUGH SULLIVAN
Eleven pupils at the Hastings Academy have been “permanently excluded” from the school following their involvement in a protest demonstration there last week.
The protest took place on the morning of Tuesday 28 February in a deployment organised by school pupils on social media. It was clearly anticipated by the school authorities, who had called in advance for a police unit to attend.
What Academy Principal Simon Addison has described as “a significant minority of students” refused to attend the first lesson of the day. Instead they paraded within the central grounds of the school protesting against the implementation of certain school policies with regard to toilet access and dress code.
In particular, they were objecting to the limitation of access to toilets both within and between lessons and to a system in which pupils needing the toilet (including girls menstruating) are required to remain at their desks until an escort (who may be male) becomes available on summons.
“Inadequate toilet provision”
A junior pupil who was not involved in the demonstration has told HIP that toilet provision at the school for the approximately 900 pupils is plainly inadequate, with queues forming to use the cubicles in the five-minute breaks between lessons. Lunch breaks of half an hour also give inadequate time, with late-comers often finding themselves queuing for more than 15 minutes for food provision before being served.
There was also complaint that the school was refusing to sanction boys wearing shorts.
A number of pupils had brought eggs to school and hurled them at classroom windows. One window was cracked in the course of a fracas.
Teachers joined with police in forming a cordon to shepherd the demonstrating children out of the central area. They were instructed to return to their lessons or, if they refused, were required to leave the school premises.
What parents were told
Mr Addison sent an email around 11am on the same morning to all parents informing them of the conduct of the protest, which had rendered the Academy “unsafe, disrupting the learning of the majority and resulting in several hundreds of pounds worth of criminal damage”. He added: “I would like to say that the overwhelming majority of students remained in their lessons engaging with their learning. The Academy is now a safe environment conducive to learning and we will contact parents after 11.45am should a student not be present in the academy following registration.”
Mr Addison went on to issue a subsequent email last Friday attributing the organisation of the protest to “a recent trend on TikTok that is causing disruption and concern in schools across the country.
“I want to stress that these types of ‘protests’ can be very dangerous” he wrote, “not only for those involved but also for others who may be caught up in the disruption. We take the safety and well-being of our students very seriously, and any activity that may put this at risk will not be tolerated. Please be aware that any student who takes part in such activities will face sanctions in line with the Academy’s behaviour policy, and if warranted we will not hesitate to involve the police if necessary if there is any violent conduct or conduct that causes damage to Academy property. Regrettably, the disturbance caused at the Academy this week has resulted in eleven students permanently losing their place in our community.”
Principal’s commitment
The Hastings Academy comes under the umbrella of the University of Brighton Academies Trust, whose website quotes Mr Addison on taking the job of Principal last year: “My commitment to our students, parents/carers and staff is to be a visible and approachable Principal; one who truly champions our students and their many successes… In doing so, I am keen to harness the views and energy of everyone in our community.”
Asked by HIP to make further comment, a spokesperson for the Academy said: “Following recent local and national social media trends encouraging young people to protest, a small group of students held a protest against the use of toilets during lesson time. The Academy does not limit the use of toilets during the school day; however, to ensure the safety of our students, permission during lessons is required.
“Student voice is very important to us. The Academy has several mechanisms already in place to allow our students to voice their concerns, and we encourage our school community to air issues respectfully and responsibly. We look forward to continuing to work closely with our school community and thank them for their ongoing support.”
The spokesperson made no mention of the expulsions.
There have been protest demonstrations at a number of other secondary schools in East Sussex in recent weeks, including at Ark Alexandra Academy in Hastings, Heathfield Community College and Hailsham Community College. At Heathfield the pupils were demanding more mental health support, but girls were also taking issue with the school’s skirt hemline policy.
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. The future of our volunteer led, non-profit publication would be far more secure with the aid of a small donation. You can also support local journalism by becoming a friend of HIP. It only takes a minute and we would be very grateful.
Leave a Reply