Tom Scudamore’s daughter to watch him race at school after Boris Johnson spoke to her head teacher 

Tom Scudamore’s daughter, 14, will get to watch her father race at Cheltenham on TV from school after Boris Johnson had a word with her head teacher

  • Margot Scudamore, 14, will be able to watch her father race on TV at school
  • She had feared she would miss her father’s race a the Cheltenham Festival
  • Tom Scudamore shared a letter from his daughter’s schoolbook on social media
  • Boris Johnson phoned Margot’s headmaster to arrange for her to watch the race 

Parents may have breathed a collective sigh of relief when schools reopened this week – but some pupils were not so happy.

Not least 14-year-old Margot Scudamore, who was annoyed to miss next week’s Cheltenham Festival in which her jockey father Tom is racing.

But now Boris Johnson has personally intervened to ensure Margot will be able to watch her father after all.

Parents may have breathed a collective sigh of relief when schools reopened this week – but some pupils were not so happy. Not least 14-year-old Margot Scudamore (right), who was annoyed to miss next week’s Cheltenham Festival in which her jockey father Tom (pictured) is racing

She and classmates at her Devon school will be allowed to watch her father ride on TV after the Prime Minister spoke to their head teacher.

The turn of events began when Tom Scudamore found a letter in Margot’s school notebook bemoaning the March 8 return to schools.

It argued that watching the Festival, which starts on Tuesday, would help with her education. Margot added: ‘My dad is going on 39 and as a jump jockey he is reaching the end of his career. So I think it is important… [as] an aspiring jockey myself that I should watch the festival.’

Tom shared the letter on social media and it was picked up by Hexham Conservative MP Guy Opperman.

She and classmates at her Devon school will be allowed to watch her father ride on TV after the Prime Minister spoke to their head teacher. The turn of events began when Tom Scudamore (pictured)  found a letter in Margot’s school notebook bemoaning the March 8 return to schools

She and classmates at her Devon school will be allowed to watch her father ride on TV after the Prime Minister spoke to their head teacher. The turn of events began when Tom Scudamore (pictured)  found a letter in Margot’s school notebook bemoaning the March 8 return to schools

The result was a call from Mr Johnson to Michael Johnson, headmaster of Chulmleigh Community College.

Tom, the son of champion jockey Peter, said: ‘The headmaster told Margot the Prime Minister had phoned and if her work had been good during the lockdown they should be able to watch Cheltenham races during the afternoon.

‘He said he had told the PM her lockdown work had been good and her teachers were all happy.’

Margot had one win and a second-place on the pony racing circuit in 2020 before Covid halted the season.