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 | | Wednesday, 28 November, 2001, 19:03 GMT Hanged boy's mother challenges expulsion  Jevan Richardson: Expelled two months before he died The mother of a 10-year-old boy found hanged in his bedroom has been given permission for a high court hearing to decide if his school expulsion was unlawful. Jevan Richardson, who had been expelled from St Mary Magdalene Roman Catholic School in Brockley, south east London, died in February. The exclusion followed a row over the confiscation of his Pokemon card collection. A coroner recorded an open verdict on his death in June, and Lewisham Council has commissioned an independent inquiry into the circumstances. Sensitive case A high court judge has granted Jevan's mother Carol Edmund permission to seek a judicial review of the expulsion order issued by the chair of the school's governors. Mr Justice Moses strongly urged her and the school to resolve the "extremely sensitive case" between themselves. "I hope it never comes back to court," he said.
Mrs Edmund's lawyers claim the decision was unlawful because the power to expel is with the head teacher alone and cannot be delegated to the governors. It is also argued that Jevan was expelled, not as a result of any incident in school, but because of a row between his mother and headmistress Carmelita Winston. Mr Justice Moses rejected argument by the governors that the case should not go to a full hearing because the matter was now "academic" in the light of the boy's death. The judge said it was at least arguable that Jevan's death flowed directly or indirectly from his exclusion from school. Jevan's family said he wrote a note in April last year saying he was unhappy at school and that he was going to kill himself. His family, who came from Grenada, also claim he was the victim of racism and have started a campaign, Justice for Jevan. | |   See also: Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top England stories now:  Links to more England stories are at the foot of the page. | |||||||||||||||||||
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