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Pull a sickie? You must
be joking!
By Trevor O’Sullivan
Getting children up for school can be one of a parent’s most exasperating
experiences, with the usual cries of ‘five extra minutes’
or ‘I’m still tired’.
But for Irish mother Gillian McNeill rise and shine is all in the genes
and it is as easy as child’s play.
Gillian’s children Claire and Mark boast 25 years between them
of not missing a single day at school, with the Co. Down siblings following
in the footsteps of mum whose attendance was also 100 per cent bringing
the total to a staggering 39 years.
Only dad Derek failed to make the attendance grade.
Gillian, who works for an auction company in Carryduff, says she is immensely
proud of her kids’ unblemished attendance record at Wellington College
in Belfast.
She said: “They love school. Well my daughter in particular loves
school. I wouldn’t say my son actually adores it now but he just
doesn’t want to lose his record.”
“They just go to school anyway even if they have a cold. It got
to the stage where if they were sick they would say ‘mum I will
go into school for a few hours just to get my mark anyway’.”
The McNeills’ record attendance has been rewarded by both the school
and the state education board.
Gillian said: “Claire has got a certificate from the school for
not missing a day in 12 years so hopefully she is going to get one for
14 years unbroken attendance before the end of December.”
“Mark will hopefully keep going to get his 12 years. The state education
board in Northern Ireland have a night for them over here and somebody
important off the television presents them with a certificate which helps
them retain the enthusiasm.”
So what next for the exemplary pupils whose turnout record almost defies
belief? Gillian said: “Claire is hoping to attend university in
either Liverpool or Manchester and hopes to qualify as a teacher of children
with learning difficulties. Mark is only 15 so he is a bit young yet to
be certain what career path he wants to choose.”
One thing remains certain whoever employs them need not worry about
them calling in sick. |
