Sir John Hunt Community Sports College has thanked parents for their 'full support'

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A school in Plymouth has confirmed a 'handful' of students staged a protest on Monday (February 27) with one parent claiming children 'wanted better toilet privileges for girls'. However, Sir John Hunt Community Sports College has said to protest appears to have been sparked by recent 'social media coverage', showing students in other parts of the country protesting.

A spokesperson for the school said some students refused to attend lessons but that they had 'no particular agenda'. Commenting on claims the protest was over toilet privileges the spokesperson said: “All students at Sir John Hunt have access to various facilities situated around the College throughout the day. While they are encouraged to avoid using them during lesson times, we are unaware of any students that have had difficulties with these arrangements.

“Our most recent Ofsted inspection also noted that our ‘students are safe’ and that they ‘feel secure in our routines’. Following recent social media coverage of school protests nationally, a handful of our students refused to attend a lesson earlier in the week with no particular agenda.'

The school concluded its statement by thanking parents for their 'full support. The spokesperson said: “We would like to thank the parents of these students for their full support.”

It comes after a school in Truro warned parents of a TikTok rioting and protesting trend that they suspected some of their students may have been involved in. Penair Secondary School contacted parents via email over the weekend and informed them that they were aware some students had planned a number of protests throughout the month.

A letter from the head teacher, James Davidson, was also sent out to students threatening to remove privileges such as trips, curriculum enrichment week, celebration events and year 11 prom attendance to students that are involved.

Disorder was also reported at a school in St Austell when reports emerged that students had been flipping tables in protest. A witness told CornwallLive: "Just to let you know that my daughter has just called me to say the protest has got out of hand and students are flipping tables. The children are now not allowed out for break."

A spokesperson for the school said: "We hope to engage with them to find a solution that works for everyone as soon as possible. The safety and wellbeing of our students is always our priority."