Two students who wore poppies to their school in Derry earlier this week were ordered to remove them. Yesterday, the principal defended the school's rule banning the wearing of the emblem.
Ms Marie Cowan said the policy banning the wearing of all emblems in Oakgrove Integrated College had been established by the Parents' Council. Oakgrove, which is situated in Gransha Park in the Waterside area of Derry, has a student population of 730, 67 per cent of whom are Catholic. "Our policy is an evolving one. We are a relatively new school, so the policy has evolved as the school has grown," said Ms Cowan. "A couple of years ago, we had a problem with the wearing of any emblems in the school, not necessarily a particular emblem from a particular community, and we had a very well attended Parents' Council meeting to discuss the whole situation.
"Our parents, who come from both communities, felt that really the school should be an oasis of peace for the children."
The parents believed the students shouldn't feel obliged to wear particular emblems because of peer pressure or community pressure. "The feeling of the parents is that the children of Oakgrove should not be used to make a point that parents may want to make," she said.