A schoolgirl claims her dream of cheerleading for the England Squad at the World Championships has been dashed by her school.
Evie Mellon's joy at being selected to compete on the England Squad at the Cheerleading and Tumbling World Championships in Orlando in April quickly turned to heartbreak when Wirral Girls Grammar School reportedly denied her five days off to attend.
The 15-year-old, who beat more than 900 other hopeful girls to win a place on the 24-member team, claims she was banned from taking time off by her school due to her 86% attendance score, which her mum Jane said was due to a knee operation and bouts of tonsillitis.
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Jane, 43, said: "I wouldn't even say I feel angry. It's sheer disbelief. I cannot believe that the school would not support a child who dedicates so much of her time to a sport. She has shown fantastic commitment and dedication, and the school should be celebrating it.
"Instead, Evie feels like she's being punished. She wants to go onto the sixth form, but now she thinks how can she do that, if the school won't support her? She should be on cloud nine, but instead it has tarnished the whole experience for her."
Evie, who lives in Heswall, first took up cheerleading when she was just four years old, and competes nationally with the Airborn Academy at Liverpool Film Studios. She trains four to five days a week for up to three hours, and also coaches a junior squad and a squad with learning disabilities on weekends.
Jane said: "As you can imagine, this level of dedication requires intense physical and mental commitment, tenacity and focus to resist temptation to partake in normal teenage activities and temptations in favour of her training, with frequent full weekend training trips to London, where she is catching up on schoolwork in the car.
"Not only are school refusing permission, but we as parents will be issued fines for her absence.
"In a society where teenagers are repeatedly targeted by government-funded social projects to keep them off the streets and out of trouble, it absolutely beggars belief that Evie and ourselves can be punished for her achievement."
She added that her daughter's success had come in the face of numerous difficulties, as she had to move schools twice in three years due to the family moving from Blackpool to Scotland before settling in Heswall.
"Evie has said repeatedly during tough times and lows that the only thing keeping her sane is her cheerleading and her sport circle. We believe as parents that throughout all this upheaval that this has saved her mental health. How can that be punished?" she said.
In a letter to Wirral Girls Grammar School, shared with The ECHO, Team England manager Angela Green said: "From hundreds of athletes across the UK only 24 have been selected to be part of our junior national team. This is a tremendous honour, which requires dedicated training; Evie is a very talented athlete who is also keen to balance her studies."
Wirral Girls Grammar School was approached for comment.
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