AN EMBARRASSED 17-year-old has apologised for making a boob at her top school's annual ball.As exclusively revealed in The Evening Star this week, the Ipswich High School for Girls sixth-former caused uproar at a hotel by showing showing off her newly pierced nipple to her friends.

AN EMBARRASSED 17-year-old has apologised for making a boob at her top school's annual ball.

As exclusively revealed in The Evening Star this week, the Ipswich High School for Girls sixth-former caused uproar at a hotel by showing showing off her newly pierced nipple to her friends.

The drunken teenager pulled down her strapless ball gown to reveal her breasts in the foyer of the hotel where the ball was held.

Other guests were horrified to see the saucy display as they left the restaurant of the three star Swallow Belstead Brook Hotel at Ipswich.

But now Valerie MacCuish, head teacher at the £5,400-a-year school, said: She has been mostly roundly dealt with and given a stern ticking off. She now feels very embarrassed and has written letters of apology to the school and the chairman of governors.

"I am sure she has learned her lesson – but I shall have to think very carefully about allowing her to return to any school balls that we have in the future."

Miss MacCuish contacted the parents of the girl to tell them of the incident and found they did not know she had got her nipple pierced.

The £30-a-head ball in the hotel's ballroom was attended by 110 sixth form girls and their partners as well as 20 staff from the 700-pupil school.

The event was designed to mark the end of the school's academic year and was held before sixth formers sat A-Level exams.

Miss MacCuish said today: "It was a very civilised occasion and most pupils behaved very well.

"The girls wore nice ball dresses and the young men were also in formal dress. But this particular girl had a bit too much to drink and got a bit out of hand.

"She had recently had her nipple pierced - which isn't something I would condone - and she wanted to show it off.

"She was standing in the foyer with a little group of friends when she pulled down her strapless dress. It was an isolated incident of high jinks.

"You know what it's like when groups of girls are together. They shriek loudly and draw attention to themselves. And that's why some hotel guests saw what happened

"We were unaware of the incident until the hotel duty manager sent for our head of sixth form Miss Jo MacKenzie and told her about it.

"Obviously it was inappropriate behaviour and we're not very pleased that the girl displeased the hotel guests.

"The head of the sixth form calmed the situation down - but it was all a storm in a teacup and over in about ten minutes.

"The girl concerned will be going on exam leave shortly so we are not suspending her from school or anything. We are certainly not identifying her

"Her parents did not know she had a pierced nipple until I rang them up and they were horrified as well.

"We have a ball for our older girls every year. Normally it is at the end of term - but this year all the exam times changed so we brought it forward."

Miss MacCuish admitted that other girls scrawled messages on paper flip charts in conference rooms at the hotel which charges up to £130-a-night for rooms.

But she added: "That was cleared up by the hotel staff and no real damage was caused."

James Jude, general manager of the 88 room hotel, said: "The girls' behaviour was just high spirits. There was no damage and nothing malicious occurred.

"We have a lot of dinner dances here and what happened was just one of those things. We did not get any complaints from other guests."