Mexborough School's policy is perfectly correct. The girl who has been told that she cannot go to the end of term function is not being punished or victimised as your report implies. She simply has not met the required criteria for the reward. That is not punishment.

I have every confidence in the integrity and professionalism of the head and senior staff to recognise the frequency and nature of the various absences so as to come to a fair decision on whether to award a privilege or not. The expense of the child's dress is irrelevant to the decision.

The school chose to adopt this event as a novel incentive to help achieve the aim of improving attendance. If all the school leavers were to enjoy the prom without targets to meet then there would be no incentive and thus no need to hold the event.

The head deserves our full support in her efforts to improve attendance and standards at the school.

David Holland
Doncaster