THEY hated their head teacher so much that they set up a discussion group online to condemn her and her 'bad dressing'.

For that, three pupils at Beaumont School, Hertfordshire, were suspended, reported British newspapers.

The head teacher, Mrs Elizabeth Hitch, also threatened a dozen others with disciplinary action. In addition, she sent letters to parents of pupils who had participated in the Facebook discussions, complaining that they had committed a serious offence by posting 'offensive' remarks and claiming that some comments were illegal.

It began last month when the website was created, drawing some 200 comments. A parent saw it and alerted teachers, reported The Daily Mail.

But Mrs Hitch's actions have provoked uproar among the 1,200 students there, aged 11 to 16, as well the parents of some of the reprimanded students.

One parent, who declined to be named, told Daily Telegraph that his daughter posted a 'fairly innocuous' remark on the site, but he feared she could now be suspended.

He said: 'Mrs Hitch couldn't have just taken a joke and handled this discreetly.

'This has blown up in her face in a rather unpleasant way. Everyone is talking about it and the children are furious. They're annoyed at the fact that their freedom is being invaded out of school.'

Petition

He described the actions taken against the students as 'heavy-handed'.

An online petition has also been set up calling for the suspended pupils to be reinstated.

But school authorities supported Mrs Hitch's decision. Deputy head at the school,Mr Martin Atkinson, said: 'This was an act of malicious communication online directed at the head teacher, which was dealt with in accordance with the school's behaviour policy and in consultation with local police.'

In a statement, the school added: 'Contrary to what has been reported elsewhere, the messages were not simple jokes posted on a private site.

'Highly abusive and foul language was used and personally directed at the head teacher on a public site.'

Chairman of Governors, Mr John Ingamells, supported the school's decision, saying that such language and behaviour are 'completely unacceptable'.

A spokesman at the Hertfordshire County Council said it supported the head's actions.

'This is, in effect, cyber-bullying and it's an important concern to highlight,' the spokesman said.

The school said it would beholding discussions with parents of pupils directly involved in the matter once they had been re-admitted to the school.

This article was first published in The New Paper.

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