A diabetic child, Tom White, has been banned from his school trips .
A grammar school is facing legal action after stopping a diabetic pupil from going on overseas school trips.
Upon refusing to take 15 year old Tom White on a school trip to France, Clitheroe Royal Grammar School in Lancashire is to be taken to court in this forerunning case.
The Disability Rights Commission stated that there is no justification for this action; disabled pupils ought to have the same opportunities as everyone else.
The Disability Rights Commission is taking the action and will assert that the ban on the diabetic pupil is "blatantly unfair" as well as being a form of unlawful discrimination.
The school's decision to not take the pupil on the school trip followed a severe hypoglycaemic attack on a previous overseas school trip. Hereby the sugar in Tom's bloodstream dropped. This was the first time such an attack had occurred.
Tom's parents claim that the school is acting in ignorance of the condition that Tom has and that his twice daily insulin injections can control the diabetes .They say the ban has been very painful for Tom.
The DRC states that the travel ban is in clear breach of anti-discrimination legislation
"Tom is devastated by the ban. It is totally unfair to stop him from going on trips with his friends and other pupils just because he has diabetes," said his father Malcolm.
His dad asserts that the school has refused to listen to the advice of educational, legal and medical experts.
The school's head teacher, Stuart Holt, has refused to comment on the situation until after the court case.
However, Mr Holt's letter to Tom's parents explaining the ban stated he would support teachers who felt "unwilling or unable" to be responsible for the pupil.
Mr Holt continued to say that the pupil had suffered the previous hypoglycaemic attack, teachers "had difficulty in opening his mouth since his jaw had locked when he passed out".
Therefore, he is "unwilling for Thomas to join any extra-curricular visits where the organising teacher is unwilling or unable to take this responsibility."
School Sued for Stoppping Diabetic Child from Travelling
Mon, 03 Aug 2009
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