Parents slam 'hypocritical' school over Euro 2016 England-Wales game half-day

A school has been criticised as "hypocritical" for allowing pupils to go home early to watch the England v Wales football match in Euro 2016.

Ian Golding, the principal of Oasis Academy Lord's Hill School in Southampton, Hampshire, has written to parents saying the school will finish at lunchtime for the match on June 16.

He said provision will be made for children whose parents wish them to remain at school.

The letter states: "As you are probably aware, on Thursday 16th June England are playing Wales in their second Group B match in the European Championship. After some thought we have decided that it would be sensible to finish at lunchtime on this day. This will give students plenty of time to get home and watch the match.

"I recognise that some children are not particularly interested in football and some parents will not want their children to leave school at 12.40. To help with this, the Academy will remain open in the afternoon for students who wish to stay."

It is understood that parents at the school have previously been fined for unauthorised absences.

Craig Langman, chairman of the Parents Want A Say campaign, described the move as hypocritical.

He said: "Parents do not want schools to stop providing extra-curricular activities for kids, for them to go skiing, day trips or to see football matches, but in an age when the state is giving fixed penalty notices it is hypocritical for them to say we can do this but you can't because we are the educators and you are not.

"It feels like we are living in a dictatorship state. You have your child, you have four years with them, then you have to hand them over to the state and the state dictates when they can have time off, what they are learning."