News Library plan


KCC PLANS to save £150,000 by reducing mobile library stops. The county council wants to cut the least-used of the 651 stops made by the 11 mobile libraries to reduce its £367,000 annual outlay. Analysis showed that 368 stops had an average of two visitors or fewer. The proposed routes will see more than half the stops increasing their stopping time and the service moving to a Tuesday-Saturday schedule.


See how stops could affect you at www.kent.gov.uk/consultations.


Bid for flag MAIDSTONE is hoping to raise the


Purple flag for another year. The accreditation for the quality of the twilight and night-time econ- omy was awarded to the town two years ago. Five major pubs and clubs have since closed, but there are more restaurants.


Maidstone town centre change co-ordinator Ilsa Butler said: “There has been a growth in the night-time economy but it reflects the change in tastes and demand.” The town was due to submit its application by the end of January.


Formore local news www.downsmail.co.uk


downsmail.co.uk


School racism claim an over-reaction, says mum


A MAIDSTONE mum has de- scribed the action of Valley Park School to exclude her son from les- sons after he referred to a friend as black as “political correctness gone mad”.


Gaynor Harryman (pictured), from Fant, says the decision now threatens her 14-year-old son’s hope of going to university, after it was deemed that the use of the word black was a “racial comment” and logged on his school record. The incident, at the school in Vin-


ter’s Park, arose during a class exer- cise in which her son was asked by a teacher to name something black, and he pointed to his friend. Mrs Harryman, who is a teacher in London, says her son was led from class and spent four-and-a- half hours in an “isolation unit” be- fore she was contacted by the school.


She said: “I came home from work to find my son extremely dis- tressed over the incident and the way it was dealt with.” Mrs Harryman says an investiga- tion by the school found that the


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girl in question did not feel the com- ment was made maliciously. How- ever, Mrs Harryman says school policy dictated the outcome.


She said: “My son isn’t racist in any shape or form and the word ‘black’ is an accepted term, in the same way we use ‘white’ to de- scribe ourselves. I


have spoken to my son about the in- cident and he is very sorry if he of- fended the other child. She is a friend of his and he did not mean the term ‘black’ to be offensive in any way. “I was also advised that during the school’s investigation the other child agreed she did not feel the comment was made maliciously and that the term was not used to upset her. Nevertheless, he now has a record for making a racist com- ment.” As well as being excluded from school for a day, her son was placed on report for two weeks, requiring a daily signature from his tutors re-


garding his interaction with fellow students.


Mrs Harryman says the school


over-reacted, without any regard for her son’s previous exemplary behaviour, adding: “I appreciate that this is a very good school. Al- though I am aware that any racial comments need to be dealt with harshly, I do not believe my son meant any harm by this comment and his case was not looked at in enough detail and treated fairly. This is just a case of procedure, pol- icy and political correctness gone mad.”


A statement from the school to Mrs Harryman read: “I realise that the exclusion may well be upsetting for you and your family, but the de- cision to exclude your son was not taken lightly and the exclusion is for a fixed period for a racial comment towards another student.” The school’s headteacher, Mr Vic Ashdown, told the Downs Mail: “Ms Harryman had asked that the governing body discipline commit- tee consider this matter and they will be doing so in due course.”


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