Girls kicked out of school over three-legged fundraising stunt for Children in Need ‘approved by teacher’
Classmates Olivia Fane and Brooke Redmile, both 15, went to school with their legs tied at the ankle after being pledged £65 in sponsorship money
SCHOOL bosses have been slammed for excluding two pupils after they undertook a three-legged challenge to raise money for the Children in Need.
Olivia Fane and Brooke Redmile, both 15, went to school with their legs tied at the ankle.
They pulled off the stunt after raising £65 in sponsorship money.
However the charitable teenagers were then excluded from school for three days when they refused a teacher's request to untie themselves upon arrival at their first lesson of the day.
They had previously been told by another teacher that they could carry out the all-day stunt during a non-uniform day last Friday, the teenager's claim.
But Laura Holland, deputy head of Brooke Redmile, at Smithdon High School, Hunstanton, Norfolk, is standing by the decision to exclude the Year 11 pupils.
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She said: ";The problem was that the girls were timetabled for different lessons, they would have missed out on their learning which they need as Year 11s.
"That was the issue - then it became about not following instructions."
After being sent home the pair stayed tied together for the whole of Friday to honour their charitable obligations.
Olivia said: "We didn't want to retract our word from the sponsors, especially after we had raised so much for charity.
"We have previously done three-legged challenges all day to raise money for charity - all of which have been successful.";
Kylie Redmile, Brooke's mum, said: "It just seemed unnecessary to exclude them for three days.
"We're very unhappy about the situation."
The 36-year-old mum said that the girls had been granted permission to complete the challenge.
The Tesco worker added: "I understand that the girls didn't listen to instructions, and that the school is the superior authority, even though they had previously been given the go-ahead, but I have more of a problem with the way it has been handled."
They returned to class at Smithdon High School on Wednesday following their exclusion, which school officials have described as "positive".
Ms Holland said: "They were not excluded for raising money for charity. They were excluded for failing to follow instructions.
"The issue is now resolved, they are now back in school, and are both very positive.
"A lot of schools do not allow children to be three-legged for health and safety reasons.
"We always encourage them to raise money for charity, but in the circumstances they were not able to do what they wanted."