To the dismay of local firefighters the act of book burning has been taken up by GCSE students in Lancashire to celebrate the end of their exams.
Pupils have been burning their textbooks, prompting three fires in one night in Preston last week.
Lancashire fire and rescue service urged the students to donate or sell their textbooks instead of setting them alight.
A spokesperson encouraged pupils to earn money by selling their books instead of setting fire to them.
Alongside a photo of a firefighter putting out a blaze, they posted: “Each time found GCSE subject books burning in different locations. Celebrate the end of school by all means but what about earning a few bob by selling them on instead?”
In a similar post on Twitter, the fire service said: “Firefighters in Preston responded to several callouts recently involving burning GCSE books. There are better ways to finish your exams! We recommend donating, selling, or simply recycling any books you don’t want.”
Firefighters in Preston responded to several callouts recently involving burning GCSE books.
— Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service (@LancashireFRS) July 3, 2022
There are better ways to celebrate finishing your exams! We recommend donating, selling, or simply recycling any books you don't want.#FireSafety #Preston pic.twitter.com/8tFxdE17Jc
Millions of 15- and 16-year-olds finished their exams earlier this month and broke up for an extended summer break. Book burning has become a tradition for many students finishing their exams.
In 2019 a group of teenagers in Bolton accidentally set fire to a bandstand when burning their school books after their final GCSE exam.
The same thing happened in Wolstanton in north Staffordshire that year, when fire fighters found charred notebooks – with the names still visible – among the debris.
