Pupils at a school that rebranded were given detention for having the wrong protractor and bringing in their PE kit on the wrong week, disgruntled parents claim.

Children at Greenshaw Learning Trust were given detentions for not having the correct rulers and others have been sent home for not having the right trousers, some parents claim.

The Trust officially started working with the school formerly known as Beaufort Co-Operative Academy and rebranded it as Holmleigh Park High School, GloucestershireLive reports.

Along with a new name, and new uniform added to the list of changes, there has been a shake up in what the school expects from its pupils.

The trust has said that it will be making changes in a bid to pull the school out of special measures after it has consulted with the Department for Education.

Parents are not happy with the level of impact that the school has had in dishing out punishments to the pupils which they say have been without any notice.

Mother Charlotte Clutterbuck, 40, from Linden, has a son at the school who took his PE kit on the wrong week's timetable.

She said: “My son was given a detention for not taking his PE uniform as he thought it was week B.

“But apparently it was week A but this information was not put in their Facebook notice page or website.

“My father went to pick him up yesterday and was notified he had a detention and yet I received no text notification about this.

“They are handing detentions out for petty things from trousers having pockets to one student wearing a coat as it was raining yesterday and getting a detention for that.

Beaufort Co-Operative Academy
Beaufort Co-Operative Academy

'Absolutely disgusting'


“The rules were supposed to be rolled out in September not June when the school year is near an end."

As a result of what happened Ms Clutterbuck said she decided that she was going to keep her son off school for the day.

She added: “I kept my child off today from school because of this. It is absolutely disgusting with the attitudes, they should give 24 hours' notice and not hand out detentions like this for petty things.

“I am sending my son tomorrow to school but I have stated that if he gets another detention for something petty I have told him to walk out at home time and if they don't let him leave I will personally go in there and take him out physically.

“I am looking to take my son out of the school and into another one.”


One Facebook comment on the Holmleigh Park High School page stated that: “...apparently [there] were 200+ excluded and 300+ detentions.

“Certainly did look like that. Teachers shouting everywhere.”


A father of a pupil at the school has described the situation as ‘scandalous’.

John Whalley, 45 from Tuffley said: “I have a son that goes to the school and he is in year 10. He heard from a teacher that they are spending £100,000 on rebranding and they get cobby about a £10 calculator.

“It is scandalous that so many have been sent home and had detentions. They are persecuting the poorer kids. They can't go out and buy the uniform and calculators. It is no fault of theirs.

One pupil feels very disheartened that she got her first detention after starting at the academy.

Row as school rebrands
Row as school rebrands




'I do not see how a uniform will improve GCSE results'

Pupil Francesca Bowkett, 13, said: “A lot of the pupils are annoyed and angry at the new rules.

“Some of it is unnecessary, for example if you were to turn around and you did not have to, you would be sent to isolation. This means that if you went to isolation in the fourth period one day then you would be expected to stay in isolation till the fourth period the next day.

“I feel that these new rules are putting all of the children down, even the ones that work hard.

“I feel that some of the rules are what is needed, such as those for behaviour and problems with that, but to get a detention for having a 180 degree protractor instead of having a 360 degree protractor is too much. 

'Military school'

“The uniform inspections are not necessary. I do not see how a uniform will improve GCSE results.”

Francesca’s mother could not believe quite what had happened at the school.

Donna Bowkett, 40 from Robinswood said: “To be honest I thought that anything would be better than Beaufort Academy.

“They are now running it like a military school.

“Francesca’s shoe broke on her way out the door for school and I told her to quickly nip and get her black ankle boots on that would be under her trousers. They did an inspection at the school in the morning and told her that they were not acceptable.

“I then got a text later to say that she was going to be in detention.

“In the meantime they offered her a pair of size three slip-on shoes when she is a size one. Francesca did say that she went over and tripped on the stairs as well, but she was given the choice of that or go home.

What the school says

The school has issued this comment in response to the claims.


“Since Holmleigh Park High School joined the Trust on 1 June 2019, we have introduced a new behaviour policy to ensure that all our students are consistently provided with disruption free lessons.

