Police are investigating an alleged assault on a schoolgirl who fears her sight has been permanently damaged by a pencil thrown by a classmate.
Kodie Cooper, 14, was working with a small group in a Maths lesson when a boy started messing around and hurled the pencil.
It hit Kodie in the left eye and she ran from the classroom with blood pouring from the wound.
The teenager spent nearly a week in hospital and is now wearing a protective lens and shield as she waits to find how badly her sight has been affected.
A boy has been excluded from The John Wallis Academy in Stanhope, Kent over the incident.
Kodie said: “We were all mucking around in class when I looked down to use my phone.
“He threw the pencil at me, and it felt like someone had poked me in the eye. But then my hand filled up with blood and I started crying.
“I ran out of the classroom and was panicking. I tried to find a mirror, but the toilet was locked.
“So I took a picture on my phone, and I got really scared. I thought, I’m going to be blind.
“It hurts a lot now, and we’ve got loads of drops and things I have to put in my eye.
“My year leader came round with some friends, which was really nice.
“But we’ve got to wait until next Monday to find out if I will need an operation to put a new lens in my eye. It’s very scary.”
Kodie’s mother Sarah Conway, 39, said: “My daughter is supposed to be safe when she’s at school, but she might have been left partially blind.
“The only teacher who has been supportive has been her year leader, who has always been really supportive of Kodie.
“But the head, Mr McParland, has just defended this maths teacher and the boy. There’s been no apology.
“I’m going to have to find her a new school when she’s well enough to go back.”
School Principal John McParland said: “It was a small group of students, a group of four friends, who were working in their maths class.
“They were getting their work done, so it wasn’t chaos in the classroom or anything of that kind. But one of the boys was playing around and threw the pencil at Kodie.
“It was an unfortunate accident between friends, with absolutely no intention of causing harm.
“The boy was excluded and he was absolutely distraught at what happened.
“Kodie has been in our prayers ever since, we wish her a speedy recovery, and of course we really want her to be back at school.”
Kent Police said: “We are investigating an alleged assault reported as taking place on January 16 at an Ashford secondary school and we are making inquiries.
“No arrests have yet been made.”
