School staff sacked for tying up student in classroom

Two staff who bound a student with plastic cable ties during a lesson at Folkestone Academy in Kent have been sacked.

The teacher and a class instructor tied up 16-year-old Jamie Rolfe during an engineering lesson at the flagship academy, and were suspended after footage of the incident captured on mobile phones was handed in in December.

In a letter sent to parents, head teacher John Patterson said that although the incident may have been "intended to be good humoured", the academy saw the alleged behaviour as "totally inappropriate".

Rolfe said: "It was really humiliating and cruel. The rest of the class were laughing like hyenas."

A spokesman for the school told the Times: "On 28 November 2007, an incident occurred at the Folkestone Academy in which a student was tied up with plastic cable ties by a teacher and an instructor. As a result of the incident, the two staff involved have now left the academy's employment."