A GROUP of 16 English School students caught vandalising school property on April 7 are to be expelled, Headmaster Robert Swan has said in a letter addressed to all parents.
The vandals – all 7th formers in their final year – painted blotches of red on walls and windows of the school on April 7, but were caught red-handed by a patrolling police unit.
Five of the pupils were arrested and “held overnight in police custody for criminal damage,” the letter said.
Pranks and practical jokes are a tradition among seventh-form leavers, but the school now appears to have decided that enough is enough.
In his letter to the parents, Swan said the police would in due course formally charge five of the students with criminal damage. The school itself will not press further charges.
However, the 16 students involved will be expelled on the day of their last A Level paper and barred from attending the graduation ceremony. They will also be charged £200 each for the damage and the cost of securing the school against similar incidents.
Swan said such behaviour was unacceptable, and would not under any circumstances be tolerated.
He added that any student contemplating any act of vandalism should know that in the future the school was likely to press charges as well as expel the perpetrator.
The headmaster was not available for further comment yesterday.
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