The £5 replacement fee has been described as 'ridiculous'

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Parents have taken to social media to complain about a school's policy on branded water bottles which were given to pupils at the start of the new academic term. It comes as parents say they will have to pay £5 to replace bottles with the Wilsthorpe School name if each bottle is broken or lost.

The bottles were given to all pupils at the start of term for free. The secondary school, in Derby Road, believes the bottles will reduce single-use waste and allow pupils to take them in when sitting exams whereby clear bottles are required.

But the £5 replacement fee has been described as 'ridiculous'. Around 300 comments have been left by people on the Facebook page Spotted: Long Eaton to express their discontent.

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Many have cited the cost of living crisis as a reason not to charge people for replacement bottles, reports Derbyshire Live. And most parents say they feel they are being forced to use the new branded bottles.

One person wrote: "Families have enough worries (particularly money worries) at the moment, to be having to find £5 to replace a Wilsthorpe water bottle should something happen to it, especially as I suspect we all already have perfectly suitable ones in our cupboards at home."

Another person commented: "Absolutely ridiculous. My daughter's (bottle) got knocked off the table and broken by another pupil [the] same day - no way I’ll be paying for a new one, don’t know how they can enforce it." And another said: "Thought the rules were stopping branding to make it easier for parents to afford school clothes etc."

A message to parents at the start of the term from the school, which is run by the Two Counties Trust, said: "Every student has received a Wilsthorpe branded water bottle at the start of term. This is in order to reduce single-use plastic waste in school and to ensure students stay hydrated throughout the day, which we know supports learning and wellbeing.

"In addition, it directly supports students in Years 10-13 who are sitting mock or final exams, as exam boards insist on clear plastic bottles without printed labels. Students are free to bring an additional drinks bottle to school if they choose but, in classrooms, we ask that students use their Wilsthorpe bottles and that these only contain water."

One of the more positive comments on social media said: "It's to have out in lessons, you can still have others for break and lunch, don't really see the problem. Fairly sure when I was at school you couldn't have any drink out on the desk, that's what breaks and dinners were for, or the walk between lessons. Does seem a waste of money though."

A school statement said: "We have a commitment to the welfare and wellbeing of our students. We invested in free branded water bottles for each student to ensure they have access to water, as evidence shows it has a positive impact on learning.

"This also allows us to provide extra support to our students' environmental mission of reducing single-use plastic. Where replacement bottles are needed, the school will ensure they are further subsidised at minimal cost."

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