Head who sent lamb to slaughter resigns

The headteacher who sent a hand-reared lamb to the slaughter has resigned. Andrea Charman sparked outrage when the decision was made last September to kill off Marcus, the lamb looked after by children at Lydd primary school in Romney Marsh, Kent. Charman is to step down for "personal reasons" at the end of the week, Kent county council announced today. Hundreds of parents and animal lovers, including the comedian Paul O'Grady, voiced opposition to selling off Marcus's meat as a raffle prize. They said it was "heartless" to allow children to personalise the lamb and then learn that it was to be sent to an abattoir for its meat to be auctioned. But Charman defended the decision at the time, saying the aim was to educate children about the food cycle. Charman refused to back down and urged people to "move on from this issue" for the sake of the children's education. She said the decision to slaughter Marcus had the support of the school council, staff, the governing body and most parents at the school, which is situated in a farming community. It was also said that pupils voted in favour of selling his lamb meat to raise money to buy more animals for the 250-pupil village school. Trudy Dixon, 26, a mother who campaigned to save Marcus, said: "A lot of people are happy that she is going because it created a lot of bad press for the school." O'Grady stepped into the row by offering to buy Marcus and give him sanctuary alongside sheep he owns. Facebook groups in support of preserving Marcus's life attracted hundreds of supporters, including some from people offering to care for him. Charman was not available for immediate comment but colleagues declared their support for her. The chair of governors, Geoff Marsh, said: "Under Mrs Charman's leadership, the school has improved dramatically and the whole school community is grateful to Mrs Charman for this. "This is a sad day for us, but we wish her the very best for the future." Council spokesperson Sarah Hohler said: "I have visited the school and seen first-hand the excellent work of the whole staff team, and the leadership qualities of Mrs Charman. "The school has been subject to intrusive media attention and there continue to be calls, by a small minority of individuals across the world, for Mrs Charman to leave teaching. "I would want to assure everybody in the strongest possible terms that the governing body, school staff and Kent county council have absolute faith and confidence in Mrs Charman. We are very sorry to see her leave."