School’s new rules are so strict ’30 have been suspended and 40 have quit’
Parents say children at a secondary school are being treated like ‘prisoners’ thanks to strict ‘new rules’ – including a ban on speaking in the corridors.
Brakenhale School in Berkshire has faced repeated complaints from parents, with some comparing it to a ‘military camp’ since headteacher Camilla Douglas joined in February.
But now parents claim things have got even worse – with kids reportedly being told they have just three seconds to look at a teacher who is talking to them.
Concerned parents say 30 kids were suspended in the new head’s first week alone, and say pupils are being told off for having a ‘fake cough’, short hair, or false eyelashes.
Others claim 40 children have moved from the school to a nearby secondary school in just a single week after requesting transfers.
Complaints are flooded in every day towards the school regarding the new headteacher and the rules and regulations she has put in place.
Parents Keith Ellis, 41, and Kelly Ellis, 46, have two children at the school – Frankie, 14, and Teddy, 15.
The couple say they would move them to a different school in a heartbeat if they weren’t currently preparing for exams.
Kelly, a hairdresser, said rules she deems are unfair include one requiring students to put everything down and look at their teacher when they say ‘1, 2, 3’ – or else the students get a warning.
Kelly said: ‘They have literally been silenced the whole day and they’re even escorted out of the premises.’
Keith added: ‘Our youngest son got punched in the face by a student, which then our son was also put into isolation because he pushed the boy back.’
The couple’s son, Frankie, was allegedly sent into isolation because his ‘haircut was too short’ – the same happened when he coughed, because the teacher said it was ‘fake’.
They say the school’s safeguarding team have been ‘terrific’, but aren’t happy with other staff or the rules.
Parent Nicole Alder, 40, has a 15 year old at the school and said students go without talking for up to three hours, because they ‘aren’t allowed to speak’ in the corridors between lessons.
She described the policy as ‘very military and very like kids should be seen not heard’ – adding that another pupil was sent away from school due to wearing fake eye lashes by a teacher who was also wearing fake eye lashes.
A Facebook page set up by parents of children at the school also contains a large list of complaints.
The headteacher said: ‘We do not comment through the press on matters regarding students and encourage any parents or previous employees with concerns to contact the school directly.’
Grainne Siggins, executive director for people at Bracknell Forest Council, said: ‘Brakenhale School is an academy in the Greenshaw Learning Trust and therefore any complaints should be made directly to the school so their complaints process can be followed.
‘The council is not responsible for the day-to-day handling of parental complaints at any school in the borough, and would only respond to allegations relating to safeguarding concerns.’
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