A school which caused a furore after restricting tickets to its Christmas carol service to just one parent has made a U-turn.

Lady Boswell's Primary School in Plymouth Drive, Sevenoaks, was branded "disgusting" by one parent, who said the policy forced children to pick their 'favourite parent'.

The initial plan was to have every pupil seated at the venue, St Nicholas Church in Rectory Lane, meaning there would only be room for one family member.

But head teacher Sharon Saunders said alterations to seating arrangements would be made to accommodate all mums and dads, following the controversy.

She said: "Lady Boswell’s School prides itself on keeping its pupils’ best interests at the heart of all that it does.

“Due to the transition from one to two form entry, we have had to re-structure some of our community events in order to accommodate the increased numbers of children, staff and family members.

“Our Christmas carol service is led by our Key Stage 2 children, for our KS2 children and is a school act of worship, not a performance. Each year our younger children produce a nativity play, for which there are three performances, with the school providing a crèche for pre-schoolers.

“Last year, at the carol service, there were concerns about the safety and comfort of all those present and we were forced to reconsider how to seat members of the Lady Boswell’s family.
"Having received a number of messages from parents expressing their disappointment, we reviewed our seating plan, and reverted to the children sitting on the floor.

"Our revised plan was communicated to parents earlier this week before a parent approached the media."

The performance will be held in St Nicholas Church in Rectory Lane, which will seat all 256 seven to 11-year-olds as well as either their mum or dad.

The school recently expanded to become a two-form entry from reception to Year 6.

Operations director for St Nicholas Church, Sue Stimson said: "It is a Christmas carol service and the school. As far as I am aware the school is not implementing any parental restriction."

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