Alex Dallas, who went to Orminston Bolingbroke Academy in England, had had cancer since she was 4 years old. In December, she decided to undergo a life-threatening operation to remove a tumor in her head. She hoped she would be able to heal in time to attend her school's prom, The Independent reported.
Following the surgery, Dallas took classes at home to stay up-to-date with her studies, and her family spent a few hundred dollars on her dress, shoes, makeup and hair for prom. Her school, however, had a policy that students must attend classes during the two weeks leading up to the prom, according to The Independent. Dallas did not attend classes during that time and was informed that she could not attend the event.
"We wanted to make sure attending the event was in the best interest of this student and, indeed, her fellow students," the school said, according to the British tabloid the Mirror. "Because she had not been in school for six months, we asked her to come in for one hour a day over a two-week period before the prom, so we could make an assessment and so she could interact with other students. Unfortunately, she did not do so and so we reluctantly took the decision that it would not be right for her to attend the event."
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Dallas said she was devastated that she wasn't allowed to attend the dance.
"I was so upset I couldn't go. The prom's the thing you look forward to from when you're 11," she said, explaining that she didn't complete the school's request for fear that going to class would provoke her anxiety.
“She needed this. She’s just had her head sliced open in a massive operation,” her mother said.
The school’s decision has been met with backlash online, but the school has not further responded to the criticism, according to the Mirror.
Read more at The Independent.
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