3 days ago
Father is fined £80 for taking his son out of school for 20th anniversary of Boxing Day tsunami that killed his two brothers
A single father has been fined £80 after he removed his son from school to mark the 20th anniversary of a tsunami that killed his two brothers.
Jack Coop, who was 16 when his siblings perished in the horror wave in 2004, flew out with his family to Thailand at Christmas time last year to remember the tragic event.
Mr Coop had stayed at home on Boxing Day 21 years ago when the horror occurred to look after his cancer-stricken grandfather as his mum, her fiance, and two young sons jetted off to their dream holiday.
But none of the family would return, except mum Sharon Howard who was miraculously saved, when a tsunami struck the Thai resort of Khao Lak.
Ms Howard lost her partner David Page and sons Mason, eight, and Taylor, six.
Now, Mr Coop, Sharon's surviving son has branded the school as showing 'no empathy' after he took his own son Leven out of St Ives School in Cornwall for a few days to mark the occasion.
Mr Coop said there was no one else to look after Leven and that he wanted to involve him in something important.
He claimed he had been 'ignored' when trying to get the trip waived for 'exceptional' circumstances.
Leven missed a total of seven days of school to enable the three-week trip and had previously had no issues with attendance.
Mr Coop, a carpenter from St Ives, who was returning to Thailand for the first time in 18 years, said: 'I was 16 when it happened and was very young to see a lot of the things I saw.
'A lot of things have to live with you forever. I don't talk about them that often - they are things you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy what we had to see and go through as a family.
'Mason and Taylor were my son's uncles at the end of the day. He has heard so much about them.
'He's never had the opportunity to go over there and it was financially a stretch to go. But to make the effort to go out there and support the family - and then get fined - seems a bit of a crazy thing to do.'
Sharon's three loved ones were among 151 Brits killed in the tsunami as water engulfed their ground floor hotel room.
Mason was on a sunbed outside the room while Taylor had been taken to a kid's club.
David was killed instantly when the wall of water struck him and Sharon was knocked unconscious.
She later scrambled out of her room and her life was saved by Australian holidaymaker Ian Walsh, who hauled her to safety by dangling a beach towel from above.
Mr Coop said: 'I knew I would regret it if I didn't go.
I feel more emotional now than I did when it happened. I think it was because it was like a part of my brain shut down for years.
'You learn to live without them but you never forget. You never heal. I see their friends around still and what they are doing and it makes me wonder what my boys would have been doing - if they'd have had children, what they would look like. But I'll never know.'
Mr Coop added he had needed to go and support his mum and flew back with her.
He said: 'It was incredibly traumatic for her. I was settling her in, we were meeting people that saved mum, working that network. Mum also had to do a number of interviews and there were ceremonies to attend.
'There were some nice things and it was nice for the country to remember everyone that was lost with all the families there celebrating their lives.
'Rightly so, mum was there and brought her family. Thailand is such a big part of our lives. I only went back very early on after the tsunami so it has been around 18 years now since I've been.
'It was an emotional experience for everyone and it was nice to celebrate them and to see they are still remembered. It has been a long time but was very emotional.'
Jack said he initially made an application to take Leven out of school for four days, which was turned down. He then decided to go a few days earlier so he could fly with his mum, who had changed her date so she could meet some of her rescuers.
After returning, he was told the fine could be 'waived' by the school in 'exceptional circumstances' but claimed all efforts to communciate with the school had fallen on deaf ears.
He added: 'I've still not heard from the school. It was originally going to be four days but as I was getting fined anyway and mum had left earlier we thought we would go early to support her.
'I would have just liked to see a bit of empathy towards the situation from the school and the headmaster - but there has been none of that.
'I explained it all on the form why I was going. But was told by Cornwall Council they won't accept it. I was told if there were any issues and "exceptional" circumstances the school could revoke it. You can not get much more exceptional than this in my eyes.
'I would understand if I was taking him out of school on a regular basis. There needs to be some enforcement for education but he's had no previous issues with attendance.
'I've not paid it yet. It is not even about the money or the fine. It is only £80 but it is the principle and the fact you can not communicate with anyone.
'I put in an application and it got turned down.
'Mum then changed her date as she was going over to meet people saved her. She was going a bit earlier than Boxing Day and as I was getting fined anyway I went out seven days early before the school broke up so we could be with mum.
'I am a single dad and there is no one else that can have him.
'Regardless of that he had to come - it was very important for him to learn about the history of our family and what happened.
'It was the last week of school before Christmas and they were just messing around anyway and watching videos. It was not like he had any exams.'
Mr Coop said he has since tried to phone the headteacher on multiple occasions to speak with him personally but hasn't had a call back.
He added: 'I can't stress how important it was to be with mum and support her after everything we saw and went through.
'There was no way I could just let my mum go back through that. She has suffered enough. There was no one else to support her and no one in their right mind would allow her to go alone.
'There is a lot of trauma still in the family from it all. We all live with it each day. It is hard to speak about the main thing was to support mum as she went to show her respects and be there for her.'
Of the fine, Ms Howard said: 'This needs to be out in the open. We had hoped he could have gone a bit later but there were genuine reasons why he needed to go out beforehand.
'A lot of others wouldn't even have asked for permission so I hope the school sees sense.'
She said she had needed to be in Thailand for the anniversary and added: 'I am not the same person I was before.
'I lost my two babies who still needed me. I needed to mark the anniversary where it happened.
'David had taken us to Thailand because I was convalescing from a hysterectomy.
'We had two days left when the tsunami struck.
'We suddenly heard this huge noise like a jet and the water came in. I blacked out after I told David: "I'm going now. I love you".'
Cornwall Council said its only role was to administer fines on behalf of schools and wasn't part of the decision making process.
A waive of the fine would have to be made by St Ives School under 'exceptional circumstances.'
