THE mother of a Bolton schoolboy killed in the French Alps when a school coach plunged down a ravine fears a similar tragedy could happen.

Lesley Boardman believes that lessons from the disaster in which her 14-year-old son died have never been learned.

Her son, Robert, was one of three Farnworth pupils who died on the school trip four years ago this month.

But Robert Atkinson, headteacher of St James's CE Secondary School, Farnworth where Mrs Boardman's son was taught, said teachers had learned from past mistakes.

He said health and safety rules had been tightened up over the years. Mrs Boardman is campaigning for stricter controls in the wake of recent school trip tragedies including the death of Bunmi Shagtaya who drowned in a lake near Dieppe last week. She believes teachers should take greater responsibility for the safety of the children on holidays or school outings.

Tonight, she will appear on national television seeking answers to her question why the bus on which her son travelled did not have seat belts despite it being the school's policy.

She is also demanding to know who should have been responsible for checking the vehicle's safety standards and for overseeing the trip of pupils from St James's.

Mrs Boardman, of Manley Avenue, Clifton, told the BEN: "I can never forgive because nobody has come forward to say sorry.

"I want to see tougher guidelines for the future. Teachers have to fully assess school trips and understand the dangers that could be involved."

In particular, she is looking for a ruling which places responsibility for ensuring children wear bus seat belts on the person in charge of the coach party.

Currently, coach operators are forced by law to fit them to their vehicles but the responsibility for ensuring they are worn lies with the driver.

Last year Prime Minister Tony Blair said any change to that ruling would be "unworkable"

Mrs Boardman's appearance on Channel Five tonight comes four years after her son and two other pupils died when the coach taking them through the Alps veered out of control and rolled down a slope.

Robert and fellow students Nicola Moore, aged 15, and Keith Ridding, aged 14, were all killed.

Mrs Boardman said: "At the inquest the question was asked of the member of staff who organised the holiday: 'Why were there children on the coach without seat belts fitted considering the school policy was only to hire coaches with seat belts fitted?'

"He actually said he didn't think it was his responsibility once he was there. Now whose responsibility was it? He was in loco parentis to my son."

Verdict

A 1998 inquest into the tragedy, which happened during a climbing and whitewater rafting trip, said there was an "error of judgement" by coach driver Jim Shaw, now aged 47.

Bolton coroner Martin Coppel recorded a verdict of accidental death but Mr Shaw was charged with involuntary homicide and fined £1,200 by a French court.

Mrs Boardman, who looks after mentally disabled children, said: "I am still angry. I do not have my son and my daughter, Helen, does not have her big brother.

"Helen has lost much of her childhood and she will never go on a school trip.

"What makes things worse is hearing about Bunmi. I felt sick, absolutely sick. She was not a strong swimmer but was allowed to swim."

The 29-seat bus had been carrying 16 pupils from St James's School and plunged 60ft down a ravine.

Mr Atkinson, who joined St James's in January last year, said: "Schools have strict guidelines and policies to follow when planning school trips and we have a meticulous process to follow.

"We carry out risk assessments, gain permission from parents and check tour companies.

"Health and Safety procedures are being tightened all the time and we make sure our pupils are well-looked after.

"But you can't guarantee 100 per cent that an activity will be safe.

"It would be a sad loss if we had to abandon school trips in the future. These activities are important."

The Mercedes coach was hired by tour operator Alpine Action from a French firm on behalf of St James's. It did not have seat belts.

Bolton pathologist Dr David Bisset said at the inquest the three dead children, who were catapulted from the back of the coach, would probably have survived had they been strapped in.

The hour-long programme, "When School Trips Go Wrong", will be broadcast tonight at 8pm on Channel 5.