Lovers, 16, flee public school at night and fly to Caribbean: Teenagers run away after telling friends they were sick of the rain

The pair sneaked out of Stonyhust College in Clitheroe, Lancashire

As classmates slept, they took a taxi to Manchester Airport

They were last seen in the terminal before flying to the Dominican Republic

Told friends at the £30,000-a-year school they were sick of the rain and cold

Two sixth-form lovers have jetted off to the Caribbean after sneaking out of their public school in the middle of the night.
The 16-year-olds told friends they were sick of the rain and cold after returning to their £30,000-a-year school  after the Christmas holidays.
As fellow pupils and staff at Stonyhurst College in Clitheroe, Lancashire, slept, they took a taxi to Manchester airport and were last seen in the terminal before flying to the Dominican Republic.

Sneaked out: The sixth-formers, who are said to be dating, left the Stonyhurst College in Clitheroe, Lancashire, at night after telling friends they were sick of the rainy weather

Now the pair – who are understood to have been dating each other at the school – are being sought by their parents and police on the island.
It is understood the pupils booked tickets online, then told close friends they were going to leave late on Sunday night for a romantic break in the Caribbean.


They waited until staff on night duty had gone to bed and fellow pupils were asleep in their dorms before grabbing their bags and sneaking out.
They are believed to have walked out of the school gates and down the road before ordering a taxi to the airport, where they boarded an indirect flight to Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.
Sources said their parents were sick with worry, but were trying to resolve the drama with minimal police involvement.
They are said to be trying to contact the runaway pair and may fly out to bring them back to school.
Lancashire Police said last night: ‘We are making inquiries with the authorities to trace the two missing pupils.

Escape to paradise: They booked flights to the Dominican Republic online

‘Efforts are being made to establish they are safe and well, though at this stage an international hunt has not been launched.’
Andrew Johnson, headmaster of Stonyhurst, said: ‘Two of our sixth formers left the college during the course of Monday morning. We have been working with their families and the police, who believe they may now have traced their location. We await further news from the police.’
Stonyhurst College, originally founded in 1593 in France, is a Catholic school that accepts pupils from other Christian traditions. Many who board at the school, which has more than 300 boys and 130 girls, come from overseas.
Past pupils include Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and actor Charles Laughton.

Spotted: The two pupils were last seen in the terminal building at Manchester Airport

Last night a source said: ‘It’s the talk of the school. It’s astonishing that, although they are only 16, they could afford to splash out on flights to the Caribbean, but a lot of the pupils at Stonyhurst come from very wealthy families.
‘Many are from overseas and their parents give them credit cards with unlimited credit.’
Traditionalists were outraged when girls were admitted to the school for the first time in 1999.
In 2009 a girl and a boy, aged 16 and 17, were expelled after they were caught in bed together.
Later that year, head of English Terence Bell, 46, was jailed over a seven-month affair with a 17-year-old pupil at the school. He was caught after another pupil found him and the girl in a passionate clinch in a classroom.
Bell later confessed to police,  saying: ‘The game’s up, isn’t it? Love is a powerful thing.’
He was jailed for 20 weeks on a charge of being in a position of trust and intentionally causing or inciting a girl of 17 to engage in sexual activity.

History: The school was founded in 1593 and may of the pupils who board come from overseas