Grammar school suspends pupils over alleged peanut prank
Teenagers due to sit exams fight exclusion over claim that they put nuts near a teacher with severe allergy
AN OUTSTANDING grammar school has suspended two teenage girls over a peanut prank which the school says could have killed a teacher who has a severe nut allergy.
Alexandra Mcdonald, 16, and Maddie Colley, 17, said they were looking for a blazer during a free period at Rochester Grammar School in Kent, when they were accused of putting crushed nuts near the teacher who has the allergy.
Both girls, who were due to sit mock A-level exams, were suspended for 20 days following the incident, which teachers claim could have caused serious harm or even death.
Although the girls denied they were responsible for the prank, they admitted that they saw the crushed nuts on the floor but thought nothing of it. Their exclusion means they will have to sit their exams in isolation at a neighbouring school.
Miss Mcdonald, who wants to go on to university upon leaving school, took a £595 lie detector test, which she said had proved her innocence.
“I’m gutted,” she said. “When I was told I was going to be excluded I was shocked. I couldn’t speak. I’ve always wanted to be a teacher but this makes me think it’s not something I want to do, if this can happen to an innocent person. It definitely was not me. I loved school and the environment. I thought all the teachers were really friendly, understanding, and there to help.”
Peter Mcdonald, her father, said a two-hour polygraph test found his daughter was 97 per cent likely to be telling the truth. He said: “Alexandra is really stressed. She has never been in any trouble before. This is the harshest punishment before expulsion.
“The report from the lie detector is 98 per cent accurate … so it does prove she is telling the truth. When I heard why she was excluded, I had to get the
‘They’ve made their decision based on probability and they will not listen to any other argument’
‘If it was a practical joke she would have admitted it by now’
school to repeat it. I couldn’t believe it. I asked for proof and was told it was on probability – a teacher saw them giggling in the same corridor but they didn’t see them with the nuts.”
Mr Mcdonald, from Maidstone, has said he will take action to get his daughter back into lessons.
“The exclusion will go to appeal before school governors, so I got the lie detector to prove her innocence. It’s so frustrating,” he added.
Although the school is yet to change its mind based on the findings of Miss Mcdonald’s lie detector test, Miss Colley is considering following suit.
Michelle Colley, her mother, from New Ash Green, Kent, said: “It’s really disappointing. It was Maddie’s 17th birthday on her first day of being excluded, so that put a dampener on things. We’ve tried to convince the school but they’ve made their decision based on probability and won’t listen to any other argument. I’m hoping they will reconsider on the new evidence. I don’t think we would go down the lie detector route but Maddie says she would take a test. This will go on her record if it doesn’t get sorted. I fully believe her. If it was a practical joke she would have admitted it by now.”
Describing what happened as “an extremely dangerous incident that could have had fatal consequences”, a spokesman for the school said: “Following an internal investigation, we took the decision to temporarily exclude two students. We make no apologies and are surprised a parent of one of the students does not see the seriousness and is contesting the decision.”
Rochester Grammar School is the top performing school in Medway, Kent, according to government data, and has an Ofsted rating of “outstanding”.