Grey area: School bans 50 Shades 11-year-old from World Book Day

An 11-year-old boy was excluded from his school’s World Book Day event after he dressed as a character from Fifty Shades of Grey. Liam Scholes was told he was not welcome at the event at Sale High School in Greater Manchester after turning up as the character Christian Grey. The school was taking part in a national event day where children were encouraged to dress up as famous literary characters from books. Liam arrived wearing a grey suit and carrying an eye mask and cable ties. But teachers telephoned his mother Nicola and said the outfit was inappropriate and he would not be taking part in the event or group photographs.

If it was a primary school I could understand but it’s a secondary school and the book and the film have been everywhere - it’s one of the most famous books in recent years and it’s not like the pupils will be unaware of it.

Nicola Scholes speaks out

"He went in a suit and shoes and with an eye mask and cable ties," Ms Scholes told the Manchester Evening News. "The cable ties were tiny and not enough to do anything with them. Ms Scholes claimed one of the teachers arrived dressed as the homicidal serial killer Dexter Morgan from the Jeff Lindsay novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter. "I don’t see why sex is seen as more offensive than murder," she said, adding: "He went as a book character and it didn’t say in the rules that the children had to have read the book. The school said Liam was allowed to take part in the event after his costume had been "modified" but it declined to explain how his costume had been changed.

WHY would anyone dress their child up as a guy who stalks, coerces, threatens and manipulates a woman??!

Tweet from campaign group 50 Shades Is Abuse