Many of us will look back on our last day of school and think about the trouble caused on 'muck-up days' when traditionally, students play practical jokes on their teachers but more importantly say goodbye to their peers.

But recently schools have been criticised for denying pupils the chance to make these memories by not telling them when their last day will be.

Maidstone Grammar School For Girls sparked a Facebook storm by a late decision not to allow Year 11 students back into school for their last few days of term.

Brockhill Park Performing Arts College also came under fire for ending term early.

Parents were left fuming and teachers were reportedly in tears after the school in Hythe gave students "twenty minutes notice" that it would be the last day of the school year.

Some have speculated the abrupt decisions have been made as a Covid safety measure, but Alan Brookes from the Kent Association of Head Teachers says keeping the date a secret down to the last wire is not a new thing, and is often a method used by schools to avoid disruption.

Mr Brookes, who is also the head at Fulston Manor School in Sittingbourne, said: "There is a tendency for Year 11 students to become over excited on a final day and schools clearly need to make decisions about management of behaviour.

"I have sympathy for the view that some parents take about kids missing out on 'muck-up' days but I also see why it has to be done that way.

"I know some schools are going up right until 3pm today because they want to manage the situation as best they can.

"There is a Covid concern growing in schools again, but that's not going to be the reason for all schools, this has been going on for years anyway."

He added: "Usually schools will have a leaving event like a prom or a disco but unfortunately they can't do that this year so I do feel for them not being able to have those final events, especially as year 11 and 13 have had a particularly difficult time this year.

"But it doesn't produce lasting scars and they don't get deprived of anything. The pupils tend to live in the same towns so they can still see each other in their own time."

Year 11 pupils at Sandwich Technology School were told yesterday at 3.20pm not to attend their last day today leaving the kids only minutes to say goodbye to their friends.

One parent said: "My daughter called me from the bus home in tears. When I called in, the staff I spoke to couldn't see a problem with the decision to take away their right of passage.

"My daughter and her friends made shirts for each other to sign - a long standing tradition for school leavers. We have gifts for the teachers which will now go to waste."

Pupils at The Maplesden Noakes in Maidstone were told yesterday morning the day would be their last but pupils were still able to say goodbye in a farewell assembly where prizes were given out, t-shirts were signed and lots of photos were taken.

Headteacher Richard Owen says with careful planning there are ways to let pupils have their goodbye while still managing behaviour.

He added: "Every year we are mindful about when we tell Year 11s they're leaving simply because there is always a concern they may do something silly.

"But the kids know from one year to the next that the final day is not entirely written in stone so we don't have issues.

"Our students have worked incredibly hard and they have all completed their work for their assessments so for us it's nothing to do with Covid, it has happened as long as I can remember in my career.

"They found out yesterday that they were finishing that day but we managed it really carefully so that we didn't upset them by doing it in a secretive way.

"Some schools suddenly pull the plug in a very different way but we were very careful about how we did it because we felt it was really important for them to still focus on their final bits of work, but still have that time to say goodbye."

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