AS the mother of a former ‘naughty boy’ who was expelled and missed his school prom, I feel qualified to comment on the treatment of the 16-year-old Ribblesdale High School pupil who indecently exposed himself in a group photo in the school’s year book.

The school has expelled the boy and is now barring him from the end-of-year prom and more than 1,000 people have signed a petition saying it’s not fair.

Let’s get one thing straight here. If he’d exposed himself in public he’d probably be on a criminal charge. So barring him from the prom is a somewhat minor punishment.

Also, if being banned from a party is the worst thing that’s going to happen to this young man in his life, he’s very lucky indeed. He’s got a lifetime of parties ahead of him. Get over it!.

The headmaster’s hands are tied in this matter. Expelling him, but allowing him to go to the prom, would be seen as a U-turn and, in effect, opens the doors to any other attention seeker who wants to get his tackle out on the school photograph.

This prank most probably cost the school dear in terms of time, effort and possible expense and the story has been widely publicised thanks to social media.

All eyes are on the headmaster to see how he will deal with this situation. He can’t be seen to cave in.

Teachers are so often criticised for being too lenient on pupils and failing to dole out the discipline required in their role as “in loco parentis”. In this case, the headmaster has done the right thing. He should be supported.

I, too, was outraged when my son was thrown out of school - 12 weeks before his GCSEs, may I add, which had a serious knock-on effect. And, yes, I felt desperately sad that I’d never see him in a smart suit with a pretty girl on his arm at his first prom. But if I’m being honest, he deserved it. More to the point, now he’s matured and turned himself around, he’d most likely agree.

So, 16-year-old prankster – chalk it up to experience and move on!