They were just holding hands, for goodness' sake!

It's good to see school students taking things into their own hands. If a school is to function properly, you don't want them doing it for flimsy reasons, but, when there's a principle at stake, they should take action in the form of mass disobedience. Otherwise, education is lacking in its remit to make students think, as distinct from merely imparting knowledge.

And that means to think for themselves, not allow the (in this case narrow and bigoted) views of teachers to get in the way.

So what was it all about? Well, a couple of girl students were holding hands, and were told to stop it. Anyone would think they'd been feeling each other up.

I recall at my school – too far back for me to care to remember – that I had my arm loosely over the shoulders of another boy, who had his arm round me in a similar casual manner. We were pals. We were told to part by some idiot who has only the flimsiest excuse that it was a few decades ago.

But what are they afraid of? If students were exposing themselves and engaging in face-swallowing snogs in lessons that would be one thing. Holding hands? Arms casually around each other?

So full marks to the students of St Benedict’s Catholic College in Colchester, Essex, England, for showing the teachers what they think of their prurient attitude.