To not know what to do about my son who pretended he went to a different school?

[chasethebear]

My son started year 9 this September. He has a lot of friends at the other secondary school. They started a day earlier than his school did and thought it would be hilarious to go into school with his friends. Apparently they spent most of the morning trying to figure out which classes he was in and caused an uproar at the school. They ended up putting him in classes and telling him they'll sort him out on the system ASAP. DS then obviously never went back and attended his actual school. I have no idea what to do about it. I haven't been contacted and no other word has been said but I hate to think what the other school have done.

I'm glad others have found it amusing because it is. He has a fair bit of confidence around him to do that.
I hope he doesn't get himself or anyone else in trouble though.
And puts his talents the proper way in future

I am a twin. Shall I start a light hearted thread about the jolly japes we got up to?
Love your DS OP 😀

Oh that's innocent fun nothing malicious it's like olden days fun don't punish him

Your Son is amazing! This would be something I would have wanted to do when I was younger, but never would have been so gutsy!
Your son will look back on this with a big smile!

I am sure nothing will come of it!

If my DDs did this I would be shocked, give them a warning about the trouble they could have got into, then have a giggle with them about their adventure at another school!

I think as parents it is ok for us to remember we are bringing up children. Whether we want to believe it or not, these children will get up to all sorts. We can choose to be the parent they feel like they can talk to, knowing we will give them a talking to, but see the funny side. Or we can be the parent who they hide from as the funny side will never be seen!
The fact your DS said 'you will kill me for this but I can't not tell you' suggests you are the parent he can be open with. So there are 2 well dones here.
1, your son, well done for being funny, brave and brightening up my Monday morning.

1. Well done OP for being the mum your teenage son can be open with!

Reminds me of when I was in an all girls catholic school and 2
boys from the local boys school dressed up as nuns and spent 1/2’a day there!!!!

Having gone to an all girls catholic school I find that a bit hard to believe. Nuns' habits are very specific, I don't think rented fancy dress versions would fool anyone, particularly when worn by teenage boys.

I'm sorry, I think that's hilarious, and very clever. I'd tell him off and that's it.

If this thread tickled you, you have to read a short story collection called Hairs in the Palm of my Hand by Jan Mark.

Juleis - it is 100% true.

Was a stunt pulled on one of our last days at school.

Suspect they were not openly strolling up and down the corridors but lurking around corners and scuttling from
Place to place.

They were 2 friends of mine and we met them in the 6th form common room.

Of course you should tell him off / punish him (even though you think it’s a hilarious jape)

That’s hilarious.

All this uproar of the unexpected student on day 1, and yet not a peep to find out why he's missed day 2, 3, every session since?

Courtney, for all OP knows there have been plenty of peeps. Why do you assume there haven't?

It's not made up, as another poster just said, that's how they read it too.

That just means there are two posters not bothering to read OP's posts properly. Around 200 others read it the correct way.

omg I think this is hilarious! Sorry I went to an all girls, Catholic school and was driven to utter rebellion by the awfulness of it so do find these things funny.

Of course he could get away with it for a day, if he'd gone back for a second day then I'm sure he would have been rumbled but the first day must be carnage all round in most places and yes staff aren't really on the look out for someone voluntarily coming into school when they shouldn't!

courtney55 stop looking for conspiracy theories where there aren't any. As for the boys dressed as nuns, that has completely made my day and I would believe it as most of ours looked like feckin blokes or were 109 years old and blind as bats anyway!

I went to school with one of identical twins and they regularly went to each other school - mainly because the one I was at school with was interested in a girl at his twin's school. They did get caught once, by the parents, so teachers were always interogating them about which twin they were, but they just lied and did what they wanted. On the last day of term one year they both went to the other school as my one was picking up the girl for a date. We thought it was hilarious, but I do remember worrying he was missing out on lessons (nerd), but they both did really well in exams and apparently pooled their resources and studied from both sets if notes etc Poor parents and teachers looking back.

I don't really understand all the people, who are not teachers, saying this could never happen? Especially when the majority of the teachers are saying that it could. Safeguarding procedures are not really designed to stop children doing extra days at school......they're designed to keep children safe! So will pick up on children not going to school, or adults trying to sneak in. As others have said, I can't imagine a teacher wasting precious lesson time to sort it out. They'd sit him in a corner and try and sort it out later if they remembered. Children change schools at the last minute sometimes and the paperwork doesn't catch up.

I actually did this in 6th form and it was incredibly easy. I'd left to go to college but my friends were in 6th form. Large school with over 1000 pupils. Some teachers recognised me and I said hi, I suspect they just thought I'd changed my mind about college. I don't remember what happened with registers etc, I think I just kept quiet while they called out names.

There are worse pranks than doing an extra day of school!

I think it’s great, and phew, after that, I bet you’re glad you didn’t choose that school for him!

Is it really funny ? This presumably caused a lot of work for the teachers, If he pulls stunts like this now, what will he be like when he’s 16 ?

@RubberDuckies I do believe the teachers who are saying it happened - i just explained further up that it couldn't happen anywhere I've worked.

Is it a Scotland/England difference? Keep reading about it taking time for paperwork to catch up etc but in Scotland you enrol in a school then go. You don't just turn up. So if someone was un findable on the database you wouldn't start flapping around trying to find them classes. You'd send them to the office who would start investigating.

I also admitted to not finding it funny/hilariously original or whatever. I probably do need to lighten up, but I've been teaching and hearing about teenage pranks for years. Trying to sneak into your pals classes or whatever isn't a particularly new or ingenious idea is it?

I'm supply.

Depending on the school and how long you are there you may not have access tot he electronic register. Even if you do changes are often not instant and only update overnight so a new child turning up in class I would add their name to the register but it wouldn't be there for the next class.

Sometimes you do get a paper register, sometimes kids have to write their names down and you hand the paper in.

A class teacher cannot leave their class to find someone from admin so even if they notice a new face and put the name on the register they can't 'investigate'.

Because I'm supply I do a head count once I've done the register to make sure I have the right number of ticks, but not everyone does.

Also a new pupil will often be shadowing an existing pupil or a week or two and it makes sense to have them shadow someone they know.

Some schools I have worked in the new child shadowing won't speak English so that adds another barrier.

I find this hilarious.

OP I think your son needs to write a letter of apology and send a big box of chocolates to the staff.

He can then set up his own business checking security in schools.

I did this aged 15.. bunked off my comprehensive and went on my friends school bus (needed to show bus pass, think I blagged that I’d forgotten mine) to my friends girls grammar school for the day. Attended all classes, except for English, which we both “bunked off”!!!

My parents were v v strict but when she found out (my friend told her mum), my mum just said “oh well, at least you went to school!”

I turned out fine

Glad I'm not the only one who found this funny!

It’s funny but will have caused a massive issue for the school. I assume they will have changed registrars, added name to books etc etc. Stupid idiot.

😂😂😂

@LadyAdle I just came on the thread to mention "Chutzpah" - I remember being very taken with this story as a pre-teen!

This is hilarious IMO 😂😂😂

"oh my god mum you'll kill me but I just can't not say" is brilliant @chasethebear. I think it's great that you have the kind of relationship with DS that he can openly share these things with you even though he knows he has crossed the line.

I would rather my DS go to school for an extra day than bunk off for a day 😂😂😂

Slightly different scenario but I actually did this without knowing. I turned up at the wrong high school on the first day and after a lot of debate between teachers and various phone calls by the deputy head I was asked if I wanted to stay where I was or if I wanted to be given a lift to the other side of town to the school I was supposed to be at. I decided to stay where I was.

This was the 70s mind.