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

Rockyroad

Glorianny

I don't want to go over old ground but this school's claims to be secular are questionable. I don't think this will finish here. I'm not sure how a High court ban will be enforced in the school. Will children pray in the playground again? Will teachers have to stop them"
Compromise is always a better solution than legal rulings. It isn't something Kathleen Birbalsingh is known for.

No, she’s known as a fantastic Head Teacher whose school gets brilliant results.

She also known as someone who uses an incredibly limited curriculum to obtain the results she does and is criticised for not preparing children in any way to deal with the problems they will meet in the world outside school

pascal30

she said today that God save the King is cultural not religious

I'd heard she was a bit loony, but honestly_God_ is cultural and not religious. Presumably Allah is different.

Joseann

Good, as long as she is fair about prayer rituals to all religions that's fine.

Well yes she is. So there.

CoolCoco

So does being secular mean that a school shouldn't sing God save the King, Jerusalem, Christmas carols etc? Wouldn't bother me but may bother the anti wokes.

Is it "woke" now to think that songs written about Jesus Christ and those that mention God are religious and not secular? I always thought the difference was quite clear, and nothing at all to do with opinion.

she said today that God save the King is cultural not religious

So does being secular mean that a school shouldn't sing God save the King, Jerusalem, Christmas carols etc? Wouldn't bother me but may bother the anti wokes.

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.

Yes, I expect they are.

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???

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

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’. 🤣🤣🤣

It’s definitely Cherie Blair territory.

Urmstongran

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

Spot on.

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

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

Well done High Court.

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?

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.

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

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.

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 …

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.