Former pupil compensated over pregnancy exclusion

A Northern Ireland girl has been awarded more than £6,000 in compensation after she was banned from attending classes at her convent school for getting pregnant.

Margaret McCluskey, now aged 21, was awarded the settlement after being banned from Mount Lourdes Grammar School in Enniskillen in her final GCSE year.

Miss McCluskey was asked to leave school because her pregnancy "conflicted with the ethos of the school".

"This obviously meant the strict Catholic morals which says you should not get pregnant until you are married, and certainly not when you are 17 and still at school," she added.

Describing her exclusion from classes as "outrageous", Miss McCluskey said she had to travel to and from school to collect and return work because of the decision.

However, she did praise the school saying it had helped her organise the taking of her examinations as well as sorting out arrangements for stretching breaks during lengthy tests which were vital during her pregnancy.

"On the whole Mount Lourdes is a brilliant school and the majority of teachers are fantastic," she added.

Miss McCluskey, whose daughter Judina is now four-years-old, is currently in her final year at Cambridge University in England.

(MB)