An Ash Wednesday ritual didn’t quite go to plan at a secondary school in Redditch
Pupils at St Augustine’s Catholic High School ended up with burns after having ash crosses smudged on to their foreheads during an assembly.Chairo Rowe, 14, has not been to school since the incident on Wednesday
She said: ‘He’s embarrassed. Last week he had girls at school saying he was cute, now he has a burn on his face.’‘They started with the year nine and it was the priest and two sixth form children – a boy and a girl. Delivery driver Ms Brown said she was called by the school because her son’s case was more serious but other parents had received text messages.Ms Brown said doctors at Alexandra Hospital said her son had suffered a chemical burn and recommended keeping the wound clean with cold water.A grandfather of another burned child, who did not want to be named, said ‘over 100 children were damaged’ and described the ash as ‘toxic’.
Head of school Gerald O’Connor confirmed both teachers and pupils had been burned but said the number of children affected was less than the estimate of ‘more than 100’ given by parents.
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