Twins could get separated at school

10 September, 2008, 13:19

A pair of identical twins born last week could have to go to school a year apart, their parents fear. Lexus and Amber Conway came to this world just an hour after one another – either side of the deadline for the school application.

The twin girls were born three weeks prematurely at the Northampton General Hospital in Britain. Lexus came at 11.20 pm on August 31, while Amber was born more than an hour later at 12.25 am on September 1, after complications forced doctors to perform a Caesarean section on the mother Sarah. The tricky part is August 31 is the deadline used to determine which school year pupils go into.

Sarah told the Times newspaper: “First I realised the girls would have separate birthdays, which I was a bit upset about. Doctors were working hard to hurry up Amber's birth but the minutes ticked by. Then the midwives started telling me, when I was still getting stitched up, that there will be a problem with schooling – the girls will be one year apart.”

The concerned mother said she even asked the doctors to fudge with the paperwork and pretend Amber was born half an hour earlier, which they refused.

Sarah and her partner Ian Caldwell say they'll do anything not to allow separate the twins. Caldwell, himself a twin, said the couple may opt for home education or even move to Spain if the girls are unable to start primary school together.

But it seems the parents' concerns are a bid exaggerated. A spokeswoman for Northamptonshire County Council said when the time comes for the twins to go to school it may take a more flexible approach to the deadline. “Any decision made will be in the best interests of both children as well taking into consideration the wishes of the parents,” she said.

So the real challenge for the Sarah and Ian will probably be organising birthday celebrations for two days in a row each year.