Checkmate: school tells champion boys to leave Andrew Stevenson
December 3, 2011.

TWO of Australia’s best young chess players have been told by Sydney Grammar to find another school next year after taking unauthorised leave to compete in the World Youth Chess Championships in Brazil.

Kevin Willathgamuwa, 8, and his brother Rowan, 9, have also been excluded from Grammar’s chess team competing in the Australian Schools Teams Championships at Knox Grammar this weekend, despite missing only one day of the long competition. The boys were away from school for 10 days. In Brazil, Kevin placed 10th out of 90 boys in the under 8s, and Rowan won half his matches. The Australian grand master, Ian Rogers, who was at the competition, said Kevin was clearly the best player of his age in Australia.

”It’s incredible someone should be punished for missing two weeks of year 2 for representing Australia,” Mr Rogers said. ”It was very important for him to go to the world youth championships. It’s not just the tournament but it’s important for him to see what other kids have achieved at the same age.”

The school had strongly communicated its position to the boys’ father, Ignatius Willathgamuwa, before the family left for Brazil.

”As has been made clear to you, the boys will have to leave the school at the end of the current school year if you proceed to take them on your proposed trip,” wrote the principal of Grammar’s St Ives prep school, Rowena Lee. ”We would be sorry to see them leave and hope that you will accept our decision.”

Grammar is one of several private schools in Sydney to enforce strict attendance rules.

Last year the boys were denied permission to compete in the world titles in Greece. But they were given permission to go there for a family reunion. The family then remained in the country for the competition.

Dr Willathgamuwa said the family were very disappointed. Other children at the world championships had been celebrated at their school assembly and told they were role models.

”We are very frustrated at this. It is like the boys are being punished for their excellence,” he said. ”If taking them to the world championships is going to make them leave the school, then we have no regrets because a school with this approach to their development can be quite detrimental for them in the future.”

The boys participate in a range of extracurricular activities, including music and soccer. Their academic results had been ”brilliant”, Dr Willathgamuwa said.

The family returned from Brazil on Tuesday so the boys could play this weekend. They had competed more than 15 times before missing the last round but Mrs Lee’s letter said they had been left out as ”a matter of fairness to the other boys” who replaced them while they were in Brazil.

Mrs Lee did not respond to calls from the Herald.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au

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