Kentish Express Ashford & District
Pencil thrown in class pierces schoolgirl’s eye
Mum shocked by response from school
tcollins@thekmgroup.co.uk A schoolgirl says she is worried that her sight has been damaged permanently after a pencil thrown by another pupil pierced her eye.
Kodie Cooper, 14, who attends The John Wallis Academy in Stanhope was struck in the left eye when a boy threw a pencil at her during a maths class.
The teenager spent almost a week in the William Harvey Hospital following the incident on Thursday, January 16.
The Lynsted Close resident said: “We were all mucking around in class, when I looked down to use my phone.
“He threw the pencil at me, and it felt like someone had poked me in the eye. But then my hand filled up with blood and I started crying.
“I ran out of the classroom and was panicking. I tried to find a mirror, but the toilet was locked. So I took a picture on my phone, and I got really scared. I thought, I’m going to be blind.”
The teenager called her mother Sarah Conway, 39, and was rushed to the William Harvey.
She was released from hospital last Wednesday and is now on antibiotics.
She has to wear a protective lens and shield, and is awaiting an appointment to find out the severity of her injuries.
But she says she is worried she will never regain full vision in the eye.
“It hurts a lot now, and we’ve got loads of drops and things I have to put in my eye,” she added.
“My year leader came round with some friends, which was really nice. But we’ve got to wait until next Monday to find out if I will need an operation to put a new lens in my eye. It’s very scary.”
Police have confirmed they are investigating the alleged assault.
A spokesman said: “Kent Police are investigating an alleged assault reported as taking place between 3.10pm and 3.30pm on January 16 at an Ashford secondary school and we are making inquiries. No arrests have yet been made.”
What do you think? Write to Kentish Express, 34-36 North Street, Ashford TN24 8JR or email kentishexpress@ thekmgroup.co.uk Miss Cooper’s mother has said she is considering sending Kodie to another school.
Mrs Conway, 39, said: “The lack of reaction from the school has been really bad, I’m really shocked.
“My daughter is supposed to be safe when she’s at school, but she might have been left partially blind.
“The only teacher who has been supportive has been her year leader, who has always been really supportive of Kodie.
“But the head, Mr McParland, has just defended this maths teacher and the boy. There’s been no apology. I’m going to have to find her a new school when she’s well enough to go back.”
But The John Wallis Academy has said the episode was an unfortunate accident which occurred between friends.
John McParland, principal of the Millbank Road school, said: “It was a small group of students, a group of four friends, who were working in their maths class.
“They were getting their work done, so it wasn’t chaos in the classroom or anything of that kind. But one of the boys was playing around and threw the pencil at Kodie.
“It was an unfortunate accident between friends, with absolutely no intention of causing harm. The boy was excluded and he was absolutely distraught at what happened.
“Kodie has been in our prayers ever since, we wish her a speedy recovery, and of course we really want her to be back at school.”