A BOARDING school headmaster has responded to complaints about the operation of the school and its mental health support for students.

Dallam School, near Milnthorpe, is a co-education state boarding school which has recently appointed a new headmaster Steve Henneberry. 

Two parents from the school wrote to The Westmorland Gazette about the boarding house. 

One parent said: "I am a boarding parent. The boarding house is in such a state they’ve let a number of us leave without having to serve the notice period. 

"The drug use is unreasonably high and I speak from some experience as a parent to six. Of all the schools that I have been a part of this is by far the most chaotic.

"The boarders have no real life and contrary to what the school may say, they don’t do the activities promised. They go to school and back, repeatedly, and suffer from a life with little enrichment." 

READ MORE: Dallam School receives new headteacher Steven Henneberry

Another parent said: "Paying nigh on £30,000 for two years education. We are at the point of pulling her out and seeking compensation for what has been a dreadful boarding experience. 

"Closure of communal social areas resulting in boarders sitting on the corridor floors for an evening chat is not what we bought into. Cancelled weekend activities as a punishment to the majority due to a minority of culprits doing wrong is bad policy.  The list goes on and on.

"The list of sub-standard boarding standards has been evident from the start and it’s just got worse and worse.  It is now at an all time low and the mental health of the boarders has definitely been affected.  We have a very unhappy child and we are not sure yet what we are going to do.  But the whole Dallam experience does not exist and it’s a shocking, shambolic disgrace."

Mr Henneberry responded: "Dallam fosters a supportive and inclusive culture across boarding and the whole school campus. Our teaching approach is based on every student having the opportunity to thrive. We have an incredibly supportive boarding community, which allows pupils to make the most of their talents.

"We are delighted that our recently appointed Head of Boarding, who will start with us in September 2023, is already working alongside our boarding team.  It means that key changes are being made quickly and there will be a smooth transition to her taking up the post full-time."