Mum fumes as daughter banned from school prom

The school has told all year 11 pupils who have been suspended since November last year that they are not eligible to attend the event -Credit:Iain Buist/Newcastle Chronicle
The school has told all year 11 pupils who have been suspended since November last year that they are not eligible to attend the event -Credit:Iain Buist/Newcastle Chronicle


A mother has hit out at her daughter's high school for not letting the girl attend their prom. Faith Robson, 15, is set to miss out on the end-of-school celebration as all students suspended from November 2023 are banned from the event.

Mum Kayla Massey, 39, believes those children, including daughter Faith, should be able to attend the prom, regardless of past behaviour. However, the headteacher at Churchill Community College said it was 'clearly communicated' that behaviour would impact students' places at the prom.

"Throughout the school term, if they've been given a punishment they have already done that punishment," Kayla told The Mirror. "Now they've been re-punished by taking away their prom.

"They only get one prom, it's a celebration of their graduation from school. They can't get that opportunity back. I think it's wrong. I think if they had been permanently excluded from the school that's understandable because they didn't complete school.

"But anyone who completed school, whatever problems they had through the school journey, should be entitled to prom. She really wants to go to prom, I think all of them do. There's so many kids with different problems and so many parents that are upset.

"I feel my daughter, and everyone else, has worked hard to graduate school and they've taken it away from them. It's been a negative rather than a positive before their exams. They could have boosted them all and gave them something to look forward to!"

According to Kayla, Faith was suspended by Churchill Community College for three days in November, following an argument with a teacher. She said her daughter was unwell at the time but was told that she was not allowed to go home. Kayla added: "Just after her mock exams she had a bad day. She had a panic attack and got upset. She had an argument, with a raised voice, with a teacher.

"It was the first time she'd ever had an argument with a teacher. She'd just lost her nana and her best friend around that time. She was struggling. I think it was the pressure of her mocks and losing her best friend and her nana that's been the trigger. She's been upset and the teachers have not let her go home to rest up."

Kayla said it was the first time that Faith had ever been suspended from school. She feels that the losses, which she suffered around that time, were not taken into consideration. She said: "They wanted to keep her in school. She would have missed two lessons of dance and photography (if she had gone home).

"The argument resulted in her missing the rest of the week of education on suspension. She was off for the rest of the school week - three days."

Faith is in Army Cadets and hopes go to college to study photography. She had been looking forward for the event, and had already bought a dress. Now, she has to watch her friends attend the event, knowing she cannot go herself.

The mother-of-two said: "If her behaviour had been bad throughout the time and she's had bad grades I could maybe get my head around it. But I still think whatever the kids have achieved they've tried their best. Faith is in Army Cadets and hopes to go to college to study photography.

Paul Johnson, headteacher at Churchill Community College, said: "Our annual Year 11 Prom is an evening to celebrate and reward pupils for their hard work, behaviour, and achievements at Churchill. As is common practice across many other secondary schools, the behaviour of students has an impact on whether they attend prom.

"The rules around attending prom, and the behaviour expected from pupils in order to attend, were clearly communicated to all parents and carers in November and have been reinforced throughout the academic year."

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