UK school gags ‘IT-minded’ pupils

We don't need no education

By Kieren McCarthy • Get more from this author

Posted in Music and Media, 30th November 2000 14:01 GMT

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A reader has informed us of a worrying case of school censorship - a classic case of stamping on those kids that display elements of independent thought. Well, sort of. It made us laugh anyway.

The following message was displayed on the front page of www.pyeah.com - a site designed and maintained by sixth formers at Notre-Dame school near Norwich. By the time we got there, the entire site has been pulled, presumably by the school authorities.

"Latest News: 23/11/00 - Hey! Today wasn't a good day, I was suspended from school for a week, and also my 6th form career is in jeopardy. This comes down to the wrongly placed pictures we had posted of my Maths teacher. It was a poor joke gone wrong and I would like to formally apologise to my Maths teacher from all the team and hope this misdemeanor [sic] can be forgotten. Obviously the photos have been removed and I do not know what else I can say to makes things right. Sorry."

Mind you, we've all been there. In the pre-Internet era it was starting up an unofficial school mag and photocopying it to sell. About every three years, someone would start a new one and the school would have to get heavy-handed and shut it down. Of course, this breeds resentment of authority and subsequent personal creativity and independence. It we had to give it a name, it would be "unintentional education". ®

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