Private school ‘regrets’ claims it dismissed race abuse allegations

STAFF AT an independent school in Yorkshire have condemned “poisonous racism” amid allegations that the abuse of former students was not taken seriously.

The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL) said it “deeply regretted” accusations that abuse experienced and reported by two former female black students were ignored, and vowed to further investigate the issue.

The abuse dates back to 2015, when one of the former students, who have asked not to be named, has alleged she and a classmate took “pages of evidence” to their head of year.

She claimed the evidence showed they were called derogatory and racist names in a group chat online after speaking out about racism at the Alwoodleybased school.

Posting the screenshots on social media, the student wrote: “We went to our head of year with pages of evidence. He silenced us and tried to make us apologise to them.

“These boys went on to get glowing references so they could attend top (universities and) medical schools”.

She added that the experience “was not an isolated incident” and that “racism in the school was excused daily”.

In a thread shared on Twitter which has since been widely shared, she wrote: “No-one bothered to recognise us as individuals. We were lumped together as those two black girls that The Grammar School at Leeds used whenever they needed smiling black faces for their brochures.”

After reporting the abuse, the student said she and her friend were “harassed the entire day” by students who defended the perpetrators.

She said: “Senior figures in the school were unsurprisingly silent during this time. A lot of energy

The student who made allegations about race abuse at Leeds Grammar School was put into protecting the Grammar School at Leeds brand, but there wasn’t even a single assembly to address the clear racism that existed amongst students.

“We were asked to apologise to them. We never received a sincere apology from anyone involved.”

Following the allegations, hundreds of former students of the school have joined forces and signed an open letter to the school’s headteacher and governors.

A meeting was held at the school earlier this week between senior figures at the school and the two students.

A statement issued by the school has condemned the alleged abuse as “truly sickening” and “totally contrary to our values of tolerance, kindness and respect”.

A spokeswoman for the school said: “Racism is a poison which has no place in the school environment or in society as a whole.”

She said the comments made online in 2015 “are truly sickening and totally contrary to our values”.

We never received a sincere apology from anyone involved.