A BRANSHOLME couple are furious after their teenage daughter had her £300 mobile phone confiscated at school. Darren and Torun Scarah, of Barmouth Close, say they will formally complain to the Department for Education unless daughter Megan's handset is returned.
However, the school has refused to back down, insisting the rules about mobile phones are clear for all pupils.
Megan, 13, was told to hand over her Samsung Galaxy smartphone after she was caught using it during a maths lesson at Kingswood Academy on Friday, November 29.
After Megan argued she had been using the handset to merely check the time she claims no more was said to her.
She attended the Wawne Road academy as normal the following Monday and was off school on Tuesday because of a teacher training day.
But when she returned for studies on Wednesday, the school demanded she handed over her phone.
Megan says she did not have her phone on her that day and was sent home.
That afternoon, Mrs Scarah, 33, was contacted by the school and told if Megan did not return to school with the phone they could face being fined.
According to Mr Scarah, his wife rushed home in a panic to take Megan back to school with her handset.
Under school rules, introduced in April, the academy now plans to keep the phone until this Wednesday.
Mr Scarah, 42, said: "In this day and age this kind of behaviour by a school is unacceptable.
"Megan has been really upset by the whole thing – even crying on some nights.
"At first she thought she had lost her phone so understandably she spent a couple of minutes looking for it. Once she found it in her blazer, she quickly checked it for the time.
"That is when everything kicked off. I admit Megan has a bit of an attitude, like any teenager, and she refused to hand the phone over.
"The school has history of doing this and it is completely out of order."
The Mail reported in July how some parents were angered by the school's new get-tough policy.
Until recently, teachers at Kingswood confiscated phones being used by students in class until the end of the school day.
But that was extended to a five-day confiscation in April, including overnight and at weekends.
Mr Scarah added: "We are really angry with the whole situation."
Mike Barnett, spokesman for Kingswood Academy, said: "The rules are perfectly clear.
"Mobile phones cannot be used in lessons – this was introduced back in April.
"There are posters throughout Kingswood Academy showing pupils these rules.
"It is essential rules are strictly followed by everyone in the school.
"In this particular case the phone has been confiscated and this person's phone has been confiscated before this incident, too.
"Our plea to every parent of children who attend the school is to obey by the rules.
"Children must focus purely on the lessons they are in and the work they should be doing.
"Of course, mobile phones have many values but in lessons the use of them is forbidden."
Mr Barnett confirmed Megan's mobile phone will be returned on Wednesday.
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