School ‘like North Korea’ under strict new rules

A JUNIOR school has been criticised for introducing a ‘behavioural curriculum’ resembling a ‘North Korean prison camp’.

Children as young as seven must walk with their hands behind their backs to stop them running, parents said.

Older pupils at Harnham Junior School in Wiltshire sit with younger ones at lunch, serve them meals and clear plates away ‘like waiters’.

One mother said her son was told off for getting another child’s pudding order wrong, while another parent said Year Six pupils do not have enough time to finish their own meals because they are too busy serving others.

On social media some jokingly compared headteacher Luke Coles to North Korean despot Kim Jong-un.

Harnham Junior School said the scheme was ‘already having a positive impact’. In a letter to parents, Mr Coles apologised for not adequately communicating the changes, saying the walking, speaking to the dinner hall and singing requirements were voluntary.