To avoid getting into trouble, 14-year-old Amelia says she decided to stop drinking water at school so she would not need the toilet. Her school, Camborne Science and International Academy in Cornwall, had introduced strict disciplinary policies, which included limiting toilet visits during classes, according to pupils and former teachers. New discipline rules were implemented when the school was taken over in January 2024 by the Athena Learning Trust, which runs six secondary schools in Devon and Cornwall.
Amelia's mother, Kayley, believes these strict policies resulted in her daughter becoming ill from a series of serious infections caused by not drinking. Hundreds of parents, including Kayley, have campaigned against the way Athena runs its schools. Across Devon and Cornwall, there have been public meetings, school-gate protests and online petitions.
Local MPs and councillors have also backed concerned parents. The opposition to Athena now appears to have paid off - with the trust announcing last month that it was planning to disband and transfer all its schools to other trusts. It said that trustees had "listened carefully to feedback" and recognised the "clear need for change".
BBC Panorama has spoken to nearly 100 pupils, parents and former teachers from Athena schools, who say levels of discipline went too far. Many pupils and parents queued to talk to us at two town hall meetings we arranged. The way the schools had been run was "authoritarian" and "cruel", some said.
"You're constantly scared you're going to do something wrong," one student with ADHD told us, while a former music teacher said the strict discipline had meant his lessons were taught in silence. Athena is not the only academy trust that has enforced strict discipline. There are those who argue that education built on tough discipline and high expectations can benefit pupils - and exam results at Athena-run schools have improved.
About 20% of the school day in England is lost to bad behaviour, the government says. The benefits of a "high level of strictness" is that students understand what is expected of them, says the government advisor on behaviour in schools in England, Tom Bennett. Commenting generally, rather than on individual academies, he told us that pupils soon realise they have to get into the habit of meeting expectations.
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