THE Princess Royal has attacked parents who abuse their children's teachers.

The Princess, who was opening a conference in Brighton, said too many parents knew all about their rights but too little about their responsibilities.

And she said she backed teachers facing a rising level of physical and verbal aggression.

Addressing delegates at the Secondary Heads' Association conference at the Metropole Hotel, she said: "I speak as a parent and a parent governor.

"Sometimes it's not always the children who give us problems.

"I am often astonished by the level of aggressiveness that some parents rise to in their dealings with the profession. It is quite extraordinary."

The Princess, who is a parent governor at Gordonstoun - the independent school in Scotland attended by both her children - said parents were well informed about their rights by "lobbyists".

And she said they were increasingly inclined "to stand on them without necessarily accepting that responsibilities go with them".

She added: "This doesn't improve the chances of having an informed debate on what their children are doing."

Earlier, SHA assistant general secretary Russell Clarke told journalists there was a continuing increase in the incidence of violent assaults by parents on head teachers, even at parents' evenings.

He said: "It is not a dramatic increase, it is still a rare occurrence. But our view is that it should be non-existent."

SHA president Judith Mullen said heads were subjected far more frequently to violent and confrontational language.

And SHA general secretary John Dunford said heads in particular were at risk because their dealings with parents were often in one-to-one interviews.

Yvonne Jenkins, deputy head teacher of Helenswood School in Hastings, welcomed the Princess Royal's words.

She said: "It's great that a member of the Royal Family has spoken out on something like this.

"Whenever anyone gives their support to the profession they should be applauded.

"We are lucky not to have a problem with verbal and physical aggression from parents at this school."

Grange Hill is banned in the royal household, the Princess revealed.

She said that, as youngsters, her children Zara and Peter were not allowed to watch the classic children's TV show because she was concerned about its content.

She told the Secondary Heads' Association annual conference in Brighton that she was aware of the problems head teachers faced in schools.

But she wondered whether life in the classroom was as fraught as portrayed in the BBC show.

She said: "These things happen in schools but in the same school every week?

"Grange Hill was banned in my house."

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