Prayer ban at Katharine Birbalsingh’s school is lawful, High Court rules .

petra

nanna8

Why doesn’t she go to a Muslim school ? Plenty of them.

Because she wanted the best education she could find for her daughter.
But, now comes the rub, she wanted that education under her terms 😡

In one petra. 👏

Smileless2012

It shouldn't be allowed and I hope she doesn't get legal aid for this one but told if you don't like/agree with whatever it is then find another school.

Yes, I agree. It is like sending your child to a single sex school and then complaining because it isn't mixed. As I said before, I think schools should be secular, and this family knew what the situation was before the girl went there, but I just get irritated by the dog whistle 'lefty lawyers' comments.

Good news!
However….

“Pupils ending every interaction with teachers, with ‘sir’ or ‘miss’” - what if it’s a Mrs? Or a Ms?

I don’t know about anybody else, but at all 3 schools I attended we used Miss/Mrs/Mr plus surname. ‘Sir’ is obviously fine on its own, but to me, just ‘miss’ sounds awful.

Or holidaying in France and railing against the fact that the locals … speak French.
🤣
This madness has to stop. Perhaps the tide is (finally) turning.
We can only hope.

It's an excellent decision by the judge. However, as Ms Birbalsingh herself pointed out, "Can it be right for a family to receive £150,000 of taxpayer-funded legal aid to bring a case like this?”

You might get irritated by the lefty lawyer comments HPQ, but I make them from the standpoint of having been a practising solicitor for many years. The sort of solicitors who take on these cases are a world away from any that I ever knew.

Jossy

"Its a secular school "

Yup. I thought that that was the point.... and that is what all wanting their children to attend the school sign up to.

Cherie Blair then GSM? A prime example I would’ve thought.
You?

I get annoyed by 'lefty lawyer' stuff too - people on the right who have a lawyer to back them don't get labelled as "righty lawyers".

I don't think it a waste of money, because it seems to me the issues were very important and this decision lays down clearly the necessity of secular schools because of the conflicts raised otherwise. It's a precedent.

I suppose she would say she’s subject to the cab rank principle - but she would have been delighted to get her hands on the case, right up her human rights street. Such a shame she didn’t win …

Germanshepherdsmum

You might get irritated by the lefty lawyer comments HPQ, but I make them from the standpoint of having been a practising solicitor for many years. The sort of solicitors who take on these cases are a world away from any that I ever knew.

No doubt - particularly as your specialism was conveyancing.

If you believe in the rule of law, and I assume you do - although some of your comments recently makes one wonder, then you would fully support the case being brought to court.

we should be properly secular like France.. Thank goodness the school stood it's ground but such a waste of money..

For balance: the ban was implemented less than one year ago (May 2023) as a result of abuse and threats directed at the school by some passers-by who were so sensitive they were mortally offended by children praying in the playground.

The pupil in question is sitting her GCSEs, and was a pupil in the days when Ms Birbalsingh was happy to permit prayers, and did not, apparently, believe them to be against the ethos of the school, and before she decided to favour (for reasons that doubtless seemed good to her) to bullies.

So any lawyer who takes on an unpopular case is labelled “ lefty”? Many lawyers have to take cases they may not personally like, that doesn’t make them “lefty”. My neighbour is a criminal barrister and has to defend some horrible cases, but he is not remotely “lefty”, quite the opposite. Who is saying Cherie Blair was involved in this case just because it was her chambers?

We sent our children to Catholic school by preference. Seems if one prefers prayers in school one should choose appropriately.

Well done High Court.

And all the free publicity GSM. She’s not daft. Always an eye to the bigger picture I think. She was probably the brains behind her husband. He just had the winning smile and charisma. I shook his hand once years ago when he was first elected. I found him inspirational. Ah well.

Mind you - I do sense things are now turning for the better: first the findings that ethnic diversity does not lead to better corporate decisions; then the Cass Report and now this… More please!

Good result. It seems this girl will stay at the school and a sibling may join after causing major difficulties for the head and teachers. It feels arrogant to me. If she and her mother feel so disappointed in the decision she should leave and attend a Muslim school.

Whitewavemark2

Germanshepherdsmum

You might get irritated by the lefty lawyer comments HPQ, but I make them from the standpoint of having been a practising solicitor for many years. The sort of solicitors who take on these cases are a world away from any that I ever knew.

No doubt - particularly as your specialism was conveyancing.

If you believe in the rule of law, and I assume you do - although some of your comments recently makes one wonder, then you would fully support the case being brought to court.

It wasn’t conveyancing,thank you very much. It was property development, infrastructure, construction and planning. Conveyancing is buying and selling homes and offices.

I most definitely do not support the case being brought to court. The girl was seeking to change the secular ethos of the school.

Urmstongran

And all the free publicity GSM. She’s not daft. Always an eye to the bigger picture I think. She was probably the brains behind her husband. He just had the winning smile and charisma. I shook his hand once years ago when he was first elected. I found him inspirational. Ah well.

I helped elect him, Urms. Never could stand her though. I doubt she enjoyed being known as Elsie Tanner’s stepdaughter!

vegansrock

So any lawyer who takes on an unpopular case is labelled “ lefty”? Many lawyers have to take cases they may not personally like, that doesn’t make them “lefty”. My neighbour is a criminal barrister and has to defend some horrible cases, but he is not remotely “lefty”, quite the opposite. Who is saying Cherie Blair was involved in this case just because it was her chambers?

Your neighbour,being a barrister, can’t pick and choose his cases - unlike solicitors, who are the subject of my comments.

Urmstongran

Yeah right mum.
You knew the score when you enrolled your daughter. You took a punt here.

Spot on.

It’s definitely Cherie Blair territory.

When the daughter joined the schools l, prayers were permitted.

And you couldn’t make it up: Ms Burnalsingh has concluded a lengthy statement on why she (now) believes in a purely secular learning environment with ‘God save the king’. 🤣🤣🤣

Did Legal aid cost the amount mentioned or was that including the schools costs defending the case

Siope

When the daughter joined the schools l, prayers were permitted.

And you couldn’t make it up: Ms Burnalsingh has concluded a lengthy statement on why she (now) believes in a purely secular learning environment with ‘God save the king’. 🤣🤣🤣

So that's what secular means!!! Who knew????
Presumably the "God" she refers to is a secular being???