Court stalls on pupil row

Court stalls on pupil row

Judgment was reserved yesterday in a High Court action over a school's refusal to admit the 12-year-old daughter of a man who attacked the head teacher.

Mr Justice Harrison said he hoped to give his decision later this week. Cherie Booth QC, for the family, who cannot be identified, has argued that the stance taken by Southlands community school in New Romney, Kent was in breach of the fundamental principle of parental choice.

Ms Booth has also attacked the legality of a decision by Education Secretary David Blunkett to revoke his Tory predecessor Gillian Shephard's direction to admit.

The row stems from an incident in May 1996 over an elder sister's school uniform which resulted in the father's conviction for common assault on the head teacher, Eamonn Cahill.