Pupils aged 10 say: All Muslims are terrorists

SHOCKED staff have told how primary school pupils told them “all Muslims are terrorists” and “black people are not British” during an antiracism workshop.

The 10-year-olds said they “hated black people” and anyone who was not white “should be kicked out of Britain”.

Staff said the children – egged on by two ringleaders, a girl and a boy – made the comments during a Show Racism the Red Card Wales workshop held in North Wales after the terrorist attack on Manchester Arena.

Although some pupils challenged the racist views, one member of the charity’s team said: “From our experi- ence educating thousands of young people in Wales over 10 years, this was the most challenging and extreme we have encountered.

“The most concerning comment was made by one of the ringleaders, a boy, who said that when he is older he is going to ‘blow them up’.”

The charity would not name the school or authority, both of which it hopes to continue working with, although it said funding had been withdrawn.

Show Racism the Red Card Wales campaign manager Sunil Patel said: “A few weeks ago, after highlighting some disturbing racist attitudes at a school in North Wales, our funding to support schools in the area was stopped by the responsible local council. As such, we must question if there is a real appetite to address racist bullying.

“Our report, published this time last year, highlighted the depth of the problem of racist bullying in our schools. In our view, the situation has not changed – rather it seems to have got worse.”

The charity said it has received record numbers of requests this year from teachers for help tackling racism, and is calling for urgent action from local education authorities.

In the past 12 months, it said it has been contacted by teachers in 13 of Wales’ 22 local education authorities. In one case, a 10-year-old Year 5 pupil told a fellow student: “Shut up you Asian immigrant”. Other incidents included Muslim pupils being stereotyped as terrorists.

Stuart Williams, National Education Union Cymru principal officer and chair of Show Racism the Red Card Wales advisory committee, said: “Incidents like these are rising and will continue to do so if racist attitudes remain unchallenged.”

Owen Hathway, policy officer at the National Education Union, said: “These statistics cause concern and show exactly why we must continue to educate young people about issues of race and tolerance.”

The Welsh Local Government Association said: “Councils take tackling racism in schools seriously and, whilst some councils run programmes with Show Racism the Red Card, budget pressures have meant some councils have reduced or withdrawn funding and are looking at alternative or in-house activities.

“WLGA officials met with Show Racism the Red Card earlier this week to discuss how best to tackle racism in schools and where councils might work more effectively with the organisation.”