Wickford Bromfords School pupils walk out over locked school toilets

A national wave of protests has hit mutiple school in south Essex after children organised protests on TikTok and social media.

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Pictures sent to the Echo by a parent allegedy show protests and pupils walking out of lessons at the Bromfords School in Wickford.

Images taken on the day of the alleged walkout show pupils in the playground (Image: Anonymous)

Headteacher Jochen Tree claims the school has no policy restricting students from using toilets during lessons.

He says the school employs a permission slip system where staff have to sign off to give kids permission to use the toilet.

The school has two main sets of toilets in school.

Pupils are able to access all toilets before school, during break time, lunchtime and after school.

If a pupil requires access to the toilet during lesson time, they request a pass from their teacher and are allowed access the toilets in the student reception.

Mr Tree said: “Students have access to toilets in lesson time, with permission from staff. These are located in our main student reception, which is the most central part of the school and is staffed so students who may be unwell can also be looked after.

“A TikTok trend has affected schools nationally in a variety of ways and we have held assemblies reminding students of the important role that student voice can play in getting their voice heard the correct way.”

A parent of a pupil at the Bromfords School, claimed that students had gone on a “rampage” on Friday morning.

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The parent, who did not wish to be named, said: “Students were setting off fire alarms and running amok at the school in protest of locked toilets, lack of school lunches and staffing issues."

Images taken on the day of the alleged walkout show pupils in the playground (Image: Anonymous)

Another parent told the Echo they were proud of their daughters for standing up to what they labelled a "disgusting" policy.

"Going to the toilet is a basic human right and the kids are being forced to choose between that or having enough time to eat at lunch," they said.

Images taken on the day of the alleged walkout show pupils in the playground (Image: Anonymous)

A protest placard (Image: Anonymous)

The protests, part of a trend hitting schools across the country today, were reportedly organised on social media last night.

Leeds Live is reporting similar protests at The Farnley Academy, Lincolnshire Live has reported walk outs at Haven High Academy in Boston, while the Mirror has reported demonstrations at Penrice Academy, in St Austell, Cornwall.

*An earlier version of this story did not include a comment from Bromfords School clarifying its policy on school toilets. We apologised for this omission and have now updated the story. The picture references have also been updated as showing pupils at the school on the day of the nationwide protest. We are happy to set the record straight.