Displaying items by tag: racial discrimination

Data uncovered by an alliance of over fifty charities shows that black Caribbean girls were permanently excluded from school at twice the rate of white British girls during the academic year 2019-20. The rate tripled for mixed white and Caribbean girls, and was four times higher for girls from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. While boys continue to face higher rates of exclusion overall, the report notes that the number of girls excluded has risen by 66% over the last five years, compared with a 32% increase among boys during the same time period. The report notes how females are excluded from education after experiencing unaddressed sexual harassment and abuse, poor mental health, and racism. Negative stereotypes attached to black girls and those from minority ethnic backgrounds play a critical role in their exclusion.

Some schools became hotbeds of anti-Israel sentiment during the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Students staged a number of demonstrations. Angry protesters gathered outside a Leeds school to support anti-semitism when the headteacher called the Palestinian flag a ‘call to arms’. During a protest at Clapton Girls’ Academy students sat down and chanted, ‘Free Palestine’, refusing to return to lessons. They did so after teachers removed posters about the Palestinian struggle from the walls of the schools. A north London school removed images of the Palestinian flag from school noticeboards, and told parents that schools were ‘apolitical organisations’ and ‘not to use political messaging to a captive audience’. Manchester’s Loreto College closed after hearing of planned demonstrations. A Jewish teacher in a non-Jewish school was bullied by students and resigned. Twenty-five teachers from a Jewish school quit their trade union to protest against its call for participation in pro-Palestinian rallies.