Walsall school removes lessons from curriculum after student claims it created ‘divide and tension’

One Muslim student, who has now left the school, said she and her classmates at Blue Coat Academy sixth form were told to debate either side of Israel’s war on Gaza.

The former student said she was given a worksheet titled ‘The Big Debate: Israel holds the greatest claim to the Holy Land. Discuss!’ during a lesson in October 2023.  

Since October 7 2023, Israel’s war on Gaza has seen a death toll of more than 45,100 Palestinians, with children making up over a third of the Palestinian death toll. In Israel, the death toll is at 1,100.

The 19-year-old, who wished to remain anonymous, claims she and her peers felt uncomfortable ‘debating’ the topic. 

The A-level student said she and some of her classmates challenged the school about the content of the classes, and, following the lessons, the student wrote a letter to the principal in November 2023, which was signed collectively by the sixth form. 

The letter said: “We have been asked to debate either side of the genocide. This is something we are uncomfortable with and do not believe it is right to be asked to do this. Students have already said this, yet it was dismissed.

“We were told that the war is a religious issue, it is not. By referring to it in such a way, the school has created division and promoted this idea that Muslims and Jews are against each other. This is not the case.

“A lot of us are beginning to feel angry, upset and frustrated at the way the school has dealt with this. We propose that if the school is unwilling to let us have a space to share our opinions, then we do not want to continue this topic in our lessons, and kindly ask that it be left out.”

In the weeks which followed the letter, the student claims she was ‘made to feel like a rebel’.

The student’s mum said: “One night she came down stairs because she couldn’t sleep. She asked me if she looked like a terrorist. That’s when I got involved. I wrote to the principal explaining how utterly disappointed I was about how the school had managed this. Why has this letter caused so much stress?

“My daughter is a thriving child, she was smashing her A-levels. She’s a good kid. Then Sundays became the worst day. It would take hours to mentally prepare for school. It was so soul destroying to see her go through that.”

The mum went through the four stages of the complaints process. The Islamophobia Response Unit confirmed it was working with the family to support their case.

A spokesperson for Blue Coat Academy said: “As with other lessons in this RE series about big questions, the debate was part of a wider context of materials and teaching inputs used to teach students in these lessons.

“The aim was to help students to understand very different viewpoints to their own, whatever view they held. These sessions were included at the request of students in the previous year and were much appreciated by many students, including Muslim students.

“Debates always have two sides, students were always allowed to explore these. The framing of a motion is about facilitating debate, not directing a preference or an outcome.

“The independent investigation clarified that the student had written the letter and gathered signatories to it. School leaders responded by arranging a meeting between the students, Senior Assistant Principal and Head of R.E. to discuss the issues.

“This was a positive and constructive meeting where appropriate actions were identified and acted upon. Students said they were satisfied that the issues were resolved and that they wanted to move on.

“Despite the positive welcome students gave these challenging lessons the previous year, these lessons have now been removed from the curriculum. The school will always seek to respond to students voicing concerns.”