Coffee chain sorry for banning teens revising for school exams

BBC

A coffee chain has apologised for banning students revising for exams from one of its cafes.

Coffi Lab in Whitchurch, Cardiff, put up a sign saying it was a no study zone and that school pupils should use the library opposite for working.

In a statement Coffi Lab, which has since removed the restriction, said that it was overwhelmed with pupils spending long periods of time there, often without buying anything and bringing food from other vendors.

"On reflection we didn't communicate this as effectively as we should have done and have already reverted to our existing laptop policy," it added.

Tom Griffin

The branch, one of eight in Wales and four in England, is close to Whitchurch High School where many pupils are taking GCSE and A-level exams.

A sign was placed in the coffee shop which said 'No study zone' with a picture of a dog with a coffee in front of a laptop and a sign pointing to "library".

A paragraph below the image read: "We are sorry but from today pupils at local schools are no longer permitted without an adult.

"Please respect our other customers and use the library opposite to study."

Tom Griffin, whose 15-year-old son was asked to leave, said he was "taken aback" when he saw the sign and that teenagers had been "unfairly targeted".

Griffin's son had just taken his history exam and was in the cafe with his friends before meeting his dad.

"They were being polite. They were looking to buy things," said Griffin.

"At the moment, with the exams, they're under an awful lot of pressure. So I don't think it's unreasonable for them to go and have a cup of coffee as a group and work together."

Griffin said he offered to stay with the group but when they went to sit down on their own, they were asked to leave.

"I can't imagine any other group of people being asked to leave a coffee shop," said Griffin, adding that he thought there would be "outrage" if elderly people or mums with babies were thrown out.

He has since spoken to the manager of the branch, which has removed the sign, but said teenagers were often misunderstood.

"They are overwhelmingly polite, decent, honest, straightforward - when we talk about the community, the teenagers are a part of our community too."

In response to a social media post, the Coffi Lab page apologised adding that it had "made a mistake".

It said it worked hard to ensure its shops were "warm and welcoming spaces" for everyone in the community.

However it added that the situation had put "significant strain" on staff and it had reduced capacity "to accommodate other customers comfortably".

It said while it worked with the local school, it introduced the "temporary measure" for students to be accompanied by an adult.

It said the shop had "taken steps to explain our thinking and apologising to those raising concerns".

"While we welcome small groups adhering to our policy, we hope that the school may be able to support with better accommodating their needs," it said.

The BBC has contacted Whitchurch High School for comment.

It comes as a cafe in Aberystwyth last month revealed it had struggled with customers staying for long periods of time and had to resort to asking customers not to "hog" tables.