Pupils told: plan your own funeral

Feb 27 2008 South Wales Echo

A SCHOOL has come under fire for asking some of its youngest pupils to plan their own funeral as part of homework.

Children as young as 12 were sent home with the task to ‘plan’ their own funeral – right down to the music they would want played and the clothes they would ask guests to wear.

One angry mother, Sharon Vaughan, 39, of Ystrad Road, Ystrad, was shocked to discover that her 12-year-old daughter Lauren had been set the task by the RE department at Treorchy Comprehensive.

The news comes a day after the Echo revealed pupils as young as 13 were asked to write suicide notes in an English lesson at Radyr Comprehensive School in Cardiff.

Mother-of-three Mrs Vaughan criticised Treorchy Comprehensive’s religious education department for giving her daughter and others a detention when the Year 8 pupils did not do the work.

“Lauren came home with RE homework and had been told to plan her own funeral – she had to choose what music she wanted, what clothes she wanted everybody to wear, basically planning her own ceremony.

“With everything that’s going on in Bridgend at the moment with young people killing themselves, we shouldn’t be putting these ideas in their heads.

“I would not want to plan my funeral. She’s 12, she shouldn’t be thinking about things like that.”

The 34-year-old mother of one Treorchy Comprehensive pupil, who did not wish to be named, said she found it outrageous.

“I don’t think they should be doing this with all that’s happened in Bridgend. I don’t think they should be asked to do it anyway. They should not be planning their funerals in school and especially with all these stresses that happen in school anyway.”

Marie Bargewell, 36, of Ton Pentre, is mum to Kieron, 13, and Cara, nine. Kieron attends Treorchy Comprehensive but had not been given the funeral-planning homework.

Marie said: “I wouldn’t have been happy if he had come home with homework like that.

“I can’t see any parent being happy with that.

“You can talk to them about funerals but actually planning your own is going a bit far. You wouldn’t want them thinking like that.”

All classes were given a factsheet to complete on funerals but it was only Lauren’s class that was given the alternative of planning a personalised one.

Headteacher Bethan Guilfoyle said she wished the class had not been given an ‘alternative’ task to carry out while studying Christian deaths.

“The curriculum has to cover national Christian beliefs and with that particular piece of homework they were given a choice.

“But it was only that one class out of 250 pupils. I just wish there had not been an alternative.”

Mrs Vaughan added: “I phoned the school and wrote a letter to excuse her from doing it but she came home and the teacher had given her detention.

“I spoke to her head of year and she said they had tried to make it as ‘lighthearted’ as possible. I feel that it was my fault for stopping her doing it, so she shouldn’t have been punished.

“A few letters went in from mothers and those children have got detention on February 28, but the ones who just went in without a letter were given detention the next day.”

“I agree that teachers have got to discipline the children, but I have told them that she is not doing it. I don’t want my child to be planning her own funeral. I feel quite sick about it.”

Mrs Guilfoyle said: “Looking at Christian beliefs will not be taken out of the curriculum, but I will be advising the classes that there should not be an alternative task such as this.”

echo.newsdesk@mediawales.co.uk