Pupils turned common room into grassy area and drank champagne at park

School turfs out pupils over lawn prank

By Gillian Bell

Published:

Around 100 pupils were sent home from an Aberdeenshire school yesterday after creating a makeshift lawn in their common room as a final-day prank.

The Banchory Academy pupils were turned away after it emerged that a small group had laid turf on the floor and enjoyed a breakfast of champagne at a nearby park.

Education chiefs said the pupils were sent home for their own safety and to avoid disrupting exams, but one 18-year-old, who did not want to be named, said it had just been harmless fun and the school had overreacted by banning them for the day.

“Most of us are old enough to drink anyway and there was no permanent damage to the communal area,” she said.

The pupils bought £150 worth of turf on eBay and stored it at one of their houses, near the school.

At 6am, 15 pupils loaded the grass on to wheelbarrows and filed across the road to the school, where they laid the turf on an area 16ft square. One pupil said: “It was only when we were down at the park after that we realised we wouldn’t get in to school. A friend who was there already called to say we needn’t bother going up because we wouldn’t get in.

“They told us it cost a fortune to clear up and would put everyone at risk of the effects of hayfever.”

Local councillor Karen Clark, who has a son at the school, said the pupils’ drinking was a step too far, and she was “fully supportive” of head teacher Sheila Di Maio’s decision to exclude them for a day.

A spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council said: “There was evidence that some pupils had been drinking and, given the size of the year group, the head teacher had no choice but to send all of them home, both for their own safety and to avoid any disruption to standard grade exams under way today.

“This will be particularly disappointing for those sixth years who were genuinely looking forward to their last day of term.

“A day of activities had been planned but, due to the actions of a minority of pupils, this has had to be cancelled. This is a very poor way for pupils to end their school career and we hope those who disrupted the day understand the upset their actions have caused.”

One 17-year-old boy was arrested for breach of the peace outside the school in the morning.

The pupils were allowed in for the final bell yesterday afternoon and they will be allowed back in as normal from today if they need to ask teachers for advice or help with forthcoming exams.