THE mum of a Worcester teenager with dwarfism, who accused a college of dropping him from a catering course, says she hopes something good can come out of the row.
Louis Makepeace, 18, from the city and who is 3ft 10ins due to his achondroplasia, had said college bosses branded him a “health and safety risk” in dropping him from the course, calling it a “humiliating” ordeal - but the college stressed the student’s place at the college had in fact throughout been under discussion, with a review process “to ensure all the appropriate adjustments to the kitchen are in place in time”.
Heart of Worcestershire College then issued a new statement this week to say Louis Makepeace had told them he no longer wanted to do the course.
A college spokesman said: “Heart of Worcestershire College would like to formally state that after speaking with Mr Makepeace he has informed us that he no longer wishes to study at the college. We wish Louis the best of luck with his future career. There will be no further comment from the college in regards to this matter.”
Mum Pauline, 56, explained that the teenager had turned the college down “over the way he was treated”.
“Louis feels he was left hanging, with no contact from the college,” she said.
“He doesn’t want to go there, it doesn’t represent the disabled people of this city.”
The teenager’s mum said since the reporting of the row it had been a whirlwind of publicity, even gaining international attention.
She said he had appeared on This Morning last week, and had been approached by documentary makers about filming his life story.
“Effectively, Louis is unemployed now,” she said.
“But his first love is acting, so the course was something he could fall back on. He is getting approached, so we will see how it goes. We want something good to come out of all of this, on the back of all the publicity. That is what we hope for now.”
She added that Gordon Ramsey’s assistant had also contacted the family, after he tweeted about the story. The celebrity chef had blasted the college for a “disgusting attitude” and said he would “offer him an apprenticeship any day”.
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