Head blasts unruly pupils and parents before leaving school

A departing head teacher has slammed unruly pupils and parents.

Walderslade Girls’ School’s Louise McGowan revealed she is leaving her job but before she quits, she wants to take on unruly behaviour and urge parents to instill more discipline.

In a letter sent home, she described serious breaches in behaviour policy which have led to five pupils being expelled.

And she has implemented a tough “no-excuse” stance – banning pupils from Year 7 to 11 from bringing in electronic devices.

She told parents: “The fact five students this year have lost their places is unprecedented, but I will not tolerate and never will tolerate extremes of poor behaviour that risk spoiling the school and the valuable education it provides for the majority of really wonderful students that attend here.”

The crackdown comes after a “host of unpleasant and quite frankly inexcusable attitudes from children, often starting at younger ages and worsening as children grow through teenage years”.

She added: “More students are ignoring the school’s rules on use of mobile phones, choosing to openly use them in front of staff without fear of consequence, refusing to comply with instructions to put them away and often refusing confiscations.”

She is particularly concerned about some parents not backing the school’s efforts to implement sanctions and punishments for their children’s poor behaviour.

“We had several incidents where parents actively fought on behalf of the child against the school, even when it has been found through investigation evidence their child was in breach of the behaviour policy.”

She added most parents had been supportive of staff.

Mrs McGowan, who has had kidney surgery and has been at the school for five years, said her decision to leave was to pursue new challenges.