School sorry over leavers who dressed up as slaves
ONE of Birmingham’s best schools has apologised after a group of teenagers were allowed to attend a leavers’ day celebration despite turning up as “slaves and slave masters”.
Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School in Sutton Coldfield said it “deeply regretted” that the boys involved were not reprimanded at the 2014 event, which saw two of them pose for a picture with teachers.
Pictures of the pupils, then aged 18, emerged on social media over the weekend in the wake of the George Floyd race row and amid Black Lives Matter protests across the Midlands and much of the UK. One image showed four shirtless boys in chains while two stood between them dressed as ‘masters’ in cravats and suits.
The six smiling pupils posed for the photo in front of a school building as other students peered through the windows at their homemade ‘costumes’.
In a second image from the same day, teachers from the grammar school posed alongside two of the boys as they knelt with chains around their hands and necks. The pictures were posted on Twitter in reply to the school retweeting an image of former pupil and saxophonist Xhosa Cole, the BBC’s Young Jazz Musician in 2018.
The school then tweeted: “This image is in no way representative of the values and culture of Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School. We are sure that the former students involved are ashamed of their actions.
“We in no way condone the dress of the boys pictured in the photo you mentioned us in.
“Those involved in this photo came in to school for the half-day 2014 Leavers’ Day in which they chose what to wear. They were 18 at the time and no longer studying lessons at school. We are deeply regretful that this occurred on school property six years ago and apologise profusely. We don’t condone racism in any form.”
It then issued a full statement from headteacher Dominic Robson saying the issue should have been dealt with more strongly at the time.
On accusations of ‘‘condoning racism’’, the school said it held a virtual assembly with pupils to discuss issues surrounding the death of Mr Floyd before the image emerged.