SCHOOL bosses sent pupils home two days early in order to prevent a massive food fight organised on social media, it has been revealed.
Concerned parents contacted staff at Dalkeith High School in Midlothian to tell them the food fight was being organised on Twitter, and children were already buying ammunition for a massive food fight.
The school’s headteacher decided to send the pupils home on Wednesday last week, telling them not to come in only five minutes before the end of the day.
Linda Hamilton, chairwoman of Dalkeith High School’s Parent Teacher Council, said: “It would have been a massive food fight, which if it went ahead would have happened during lunch time when other pupils were around.
“I wouldn’t want my child caught up in it.”
Soup
Last year pupils in high spirits organised a similar food fight at the same time of year, and school bosses were clearly anxious to avoid a repeat.
Mrs Hamilton said:“Someone was hurt after they were covered in soup last year.
“This year they wanted to better them.”
She added: “The kids were discussing on Twitter what they were doing.
“The parents got wind of it.
“Some parents then went to the school and said this was going on.
“They had already seen some kinds buying eggs and flower. They were thinking of baking a massive cake.”
High jinks
She said the fight could have involved around 70 pupils, in a school of around 1,000.
Explaining his decision to send the pupils home early last week, headteacher Colin Gerrie, said: “My staff and I became aware that a small minority of pupils may have been tempted to engage in end-of-year high jinks that could have disrupted the school when our
S4 SQA exams are taking place.”
He added: “We needed to protect our S4 pupils from any risk their exams might be disrupted so decided to start our study leave two days early.”
Frustrated pupils complained they were not abkle to say goodbye to each other properly before going on exam leave.
One pupil, who did not wish to be named, said: “In previous years they’ve been quite bad, but this year they weren’t going to be too extravagant.
Letters
“There was a water fight between second year pupils on Tuesday and the teachers have been suggesting that the sixth-years had put them up to it.
“On Wednesday afternoon, teachers from the senior management team came round the classrooms about five minutes before the end of the day to hand out letters.
“The letters to fifth-years said, ‘Good luck with exams and we’ll see you again, while the sixth year letter said ‘Thanks for your contribution to the school’ and that was basically it.
“We were all quite shocked. People didn’t have time to go round and say their good byes to teachers and friends.”
