A SCHOOL has courted criticism from parents after banning pupils from sending Christmas cards to one another out of concern for the environment.
Belton Lane Primary School in Grantham, Lincolnshire, has written to the parents to inform them they will be encouraging pupils to send just one Christmas card to their entire class this year.
The head of Belton Lane Primary School, Jonathon Mason, wrote: "I have been approached by a number of children recently who are concerned about the impact of sending Christmas cards on the environment.
"Throughout the world we send enough Christmas cards that if we placed them alongside each other, they'd cover the world's circumference 500 times.
"The manufacture of Christmas cards is contributing to our ever-growing carbon emissions.
"Instead, can we encourage you to save money and the environment by not sending cards to all of the children in a class individually but instead, if you want to send a card please send one card to the whole class.
"Teachers can then display the cards in the classroom for everyone to see."
The plans have attracted widespread derision, with one parent accusing the school of “rank hypocrisy” in telling people to stop sending cards via a letter, printed on paper.
"I hope parents boycott these Grinch-like plans and keep this tradition alive by sending lots of cards to their little pals,” the unnamed parent told the Daily Mail.
"They are mostly recyclable anyway. I agree that environmental issues are important, but I don't see recyclable Christmas cards as a massive contributor to these problems."
