Wednesfield High School in Wolverhampton is no different from hundreds of others around the country. Its children are from all backgrounds and abilities and it's rated well by Ofsted.
But, as in many schools, swearing is an issue.
Head Peter Coates is saddened: 'It's a pity when the children's language is impoverished. I think that swearing diminishes them. Sometimes they're unaware because they're children of how they're perceived, and that's a great pity.'
He thinks that many of the factors leading to the problem are outside the control of the school and parents: 'Children are exposed to so much swearing, they see it in newspapers, they read it in magazines, they hear it on television, radio, CDs.'
Writer and vicar's wife, Anne Atkins is worried by the misuse of language and the casual use of swearing. She visits the school to discover the scale of the problem and is appalled at the streams of abuse she witnesses, much of which she can't even understand.
Advertisement
