Bungling hotel staff left dozens of British schoolchildren stranded in the US after shredding 41 of their passports in error.
The pupils from Barr Beacon School in Walsall, in Birmingham, had been on a skiing trip in New Hampshire and were due to fly home on Saturday.
As of today, the group were still in the States enjoying an impromptu sightseeing trip in New York as embassy staff worked to get them emergency passports.
Parents of the stranded pupils have been quick to praise the “phenomenal" response of teachers who were looking after the children on the trip.
Head Katie Hibbs said she was proud of the staff on the trip "for managing this very challenging situation”.
"We have 42 pupils and four members of staff currently in New York after 41 of the passports were destroyed whilst the group were staying at the hotel in New Hampshire,” Mrs Hibbs said.
“The group have had to apply for emergency documentation to allow them to travel home.
“The British Embassy in New York have completed the applications with the pupils and documents will be collected on their day of travel to leave the USA.
"The party are currently in New York where they await their flight home, four days later than planned.”
The pupils are understood to be from Years 8 to 10 and are aged between 12 and 15.
The skiing trip had previously been cancelled twice due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking of the drama, the mother of one of the girls stranded in America said: “It was a horrific shock really.
“It's the first time she has been away from family for this long. And what they were doing was really challenging - skiing black runs or blue runs, depending on their experience.”
She praised the teacher leading the trip saying they communicated well and supported pupils.
"She was up throughout the night answering our emails and questions when she should have been sleeping," she said.
"The pastoral care, and how they have been looked after has been so reassuring."
She also praised Mrs Hibbs who wasted no time in putting a plan in place and ensured all parents filled out the required paperwork within 24 hours.
"The way the head teacher has been problem-solving from a distance has been fantastic," she said.
"She has just communicated well with us and was really calm and really clear. She has just been phenomenal."
The group had been staying at the Kancamagus Lodge in Lincoln, New Hampshire when the passports were shredded.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: "Our staff are always on hand to support Brits in trouble overseas and we have been in close contact with this school to assist them.
"We are processing their applications for emergency travel documents so the staff and children can return to the UK as quickly as possible."
