A dad says his 15-year-old son was left "absolutely devastated" after being turned away from his senior prom because he had missed one of his final exams. Harrison Lang had been looking forward to the dance, with his dad Stephen Lang, 54, and partner Kayleigh Richards, 35, spending a "small fortune" on his suit and arranging for a car for the occasion.
However, the couple were left shocked when they got a phone call from Camborne Science and International Academy asking them to pick up the schoolboy last Tuesday - as he was not welcome at the dance. They were told that Harrison had been banned from attending the prom due to missing one of his final exams and "being naughty this year".
However, the school reportedly says that neither Harrison or his family had try to buy a ticket to the event, and would have been refused over his failure to adhering to school policies over the course of the year.
Mr Lang said: “I bought my son his suit ready for him to go and we got a car which we had hired to take him. He came down to the prom in the car and parked outside like anybody else and the teacher even opened the door to let him out with the crowds. An hour later I had a phone call from another teacher who said he wasn’t welcome to the prom because he had missed an exam and had been naughty this year."
He described his teenage son as "absolutely devastated" and that the school had "embarrassed him in front of all his friends". He continued: "Normally a teacher would ring me if he was ever late or missed school but I hadn't heard a word from them about this. Harrison felt awful in front of his friends.
"He was broken. So upset. We spent a small fortune on his suit, shoes and getting him all nice and ready for it. If they had said a few weeks before then it’s a different matter but they’ve let him go all the way down there, greeted him out of the car and said it was lovely to see him and then this. He was absolutely devastated. Me, my partner and Harry's mum were all devastated too at how you could turn away a kid like this."
He claimed that he had emailed the school to complain but had not yet heard back. "Harrison says there were lots of other kids who never attend school there too," he continued. "They’ve done it in front of hundreds of people and made him look so small. It was his last day of schooling and that prom experience will never happen again. The school has my phone number and they are quick enough to ring me if he was naughty at school or late but they didn’t even try to ring me about this.”
A Camborne Science and International Academy, reported CornwallLive, said: "Whilst we do our utmost to make sure all students are able to attend school social occasions, unfortunately and rarely there are instances when this isn’t possible. Camborne Science and International Academy has very clear and high expectations about attendance and behaviour as outlined in our school policies.
"All students are fully aware that they must adhere to our school policies throughout the year and when these standards are not met, students will not be awarded the privilege to attend the prom. The prom is a ticketed event and students are required to pay in advance and pre-order food.
"In this instance, the student in question neither paid for a ticket nor pre-ordered food and therefore was not expected to attend. If he had attempted to pay for a ticket or pre-order food, he would have been politely declined at that point due to our aforementioned policies.”
The Mirror contacted Camborne Science and International Academy for comment.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
