A primary school teacher has been summoned to court after allowing her son to go on an educational trip to China during term time.

But Catherine Clifford says she is willing to face having a criminal record about what she says is a matter of principle.

The 46-year-old Cliffe resident let her son Matthew - a pupil at Rochester Math School - go on holiday in February as she believed it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience Chinese culture.

But she has since been told she must pay a £120 fine due to the illegal school absence or go to court.

“I said it’s not a family holiday as none of his family went,” said the mum-of-two, who works in Medway.

“A friend from school was visiting Chinese relatives, they were taking the boys to the Great Wall of China and he experienced being part of a Chinese family at Chinese New Year.

“It was the year before his exams and then he’s going to have A-levels - after that he might never be friends with another Chinese person.

“It was an experience he couldn’t miss.”

"It was an experience he couldn’t miss" - Catherine Clifford

Mrs Clifford says her son is doing well in his studies and quickly caught up with his work, but the school say they are not prepared to be flexible.

A letter from pastoral support officer Mrs P Lovelock said: “Whilst we recognise the educational value of Matthew’s holiday we are more concerned about the potential loss of education during his absence.

“We also acknowledge Matthew has caught up the work missed and that as a bright pupil his loss of knowledge will be minimised.

"However, as explained earlier, we must remain consistent in following our policies."

But Mrs Clifford says that stance is contradictory - as the school itself takes pupils to China during term time and the cricket team recently travelled to Barbados.