Private school to expel skiving pupils
A HEADMASTER at a prestigious private school yesterday threatened to expel ‘pathetic’ pupils who skive off sick, or are caught smoking, drinking or breaking his strict rules.
Toby Belfield, principal of Ruthin School in Denbighshire, north Wales, told parents he is taking action because the school is too full.
He said he needs to clear out poorly behaved students to make room for new pupils in September – and he warned that he will be ruthless in his approach.
In a series of no-nonsense emails to staff, children and parents, Mr Belfield, pictured, said he would be ‘examining very carefully’ the behaviour of all pupils from now until the end of the year.
He said he was fed up with scruffily dressed pupils, including boys not wearing a matching jackets with suit trousers and girls whose skirts are too short.
Mr Belfield said some sixth form girls ‘look like they are going to a nightclub’ and insisted he would refuse to teach them and would send pupils home if they failed to dress appropriately.
The leaked emails outline that smoking and drinking alcohol at the co- educational school, which has around 350 pupils and where fees cost up to £31,500 a year for boarders, is banned. Anyone caught doing either will be kicked out, the head said.
Boys and girls are forbidden from entering each other’s dormitories.
‘No boy is allowed inside a girls boarding house, and no girl is allowed inside a boys boarding house,’ Mr Belfield said. ‘ Breaking this rule results in immediate expulsion. I, personally, do not like boyfriend/girlfriend relationships – I see them getting in the way of academic progress (in most cases).’
The headmaster also said he felt ‘embarrassed’ by the state of many pupils’ bedrooms and the amount of litter around the school and had banned children from visiting local takeaways until further notice. He would be visiting the dormitories to inspect them for cleanliness.
Mr Belfield said he was fed up with far too many ‘pathetic’ students being registered as ‘sick when they were simply ‘tired’, telling staff: ‘Sickness is only tolerated in extreme situations – no more pathetic students pretending to be ill.’
While he said he did not expect all pupils to get A-grades, they should all be seen to be making an effort, the head added.
According to Mr Belfield, the 730-year-old school, whose former pupils include John Lennon’s son Julian and many eminent judges and politicians, will be oversubscribed in September, with 25 more pupils than it has space for. He said he had been left with no choice but to trim pupil numbers by throwing out those who breached school rules.
Mr Belfield told staff and students: ‘The problem is very serious, because based on current numbers, we will have more boarders than bedrooms. I am going to examine, very carefully, the behaviour of all boarding students.’
It comes after the Mail reported yesterday that parents of pupils who skip lessons have been told that they will have to pay exam fees. Colchester Academy, a state school in Essex, is charging £65 per GCSE if a child misses more than 10 per cent of classes in their final year – about 20 days.