Schoolchildren standing up for charity are taken out of lessons

Estimates of how many children were removed from lessons range for 'a small number' to 120

The Marie Curie charity daffodil

In what seems to be a heartening stand against petty bureaucracy, at least 40 pupils have been taken out of lessons at a school in Cheshire for refusing to remove a charity badge from their blazers.

Pupils at Runcorn’s Grange School were told to remove Marie Curie yellow daffodil badges because they broke dress code rules.

However, a large number of children refused to take the badges off and were subsequently segregated from other children.

Head teacher Barry Carney described the “unfortunate row” to the BBC as an “enormous distraction.”

Marie Ward, whose daughter was taken out of the class, said that the school's behaviour was “disgraceful.”

She said that she could not understand why the school, which raises money on behalf of other charities, would not permit the pupils to wear the badges.

“A little pin on the blazer and they say ‘no’, yet they have a big school badge on the blazer.”

Mr Carney said that 70 pupils wore the cancer charity’s trademark daffodil badge but many had decided to remove it when asked.

However, a “small number” of those who refused were segregated in separate classrooms while staff explained why they could not wear them.

But pupils who were kept in classrooms claimed that Carney was deliberately underplaying the incident and said that the number isolated was more like 120.

Mr Carney said that he would now review the current rules if the issue were to be raised through the school council.

“We don’t want blazers adorned with badges, we’re happy for the children to wear them on their coats or on their bag,” he said.

He said that the school was not against the idea of charity and has a nominated charity each year, chosen by the head boy and the head girl.