Comments

Lee, wonderful post, we shouldn't have to respect these parents vile prejudices and the cowardice of the arts establishment.

Opera North & the school in question should hang their heads in shame for refusing to stand up to bigotry..

Quite a few years ago, I directed a newly-commissioned opera in the South Bank Centre for which professional artists joined with hundreds of school kids (I think drawn from five junior schools across South London and Surrey) to present a significant educational artistic project. The memory of it would doubtless live on in the minds of these children for the rest of their lives, possibly even radically transforming their perceptions of music, opera, and of the arts generally.

This was way before the present paranoia with CRB checks and obsessions with censoriousness, uniform expression, and priggish morality. In fact, it was an opera on the life of Christ called 'The Promise', which more than a few headteachers today would probably deem to be 'racist', 'discriminatory' or otherwise inappropriate in a multi-faith, multi-ethnic context.

When artistic expression is censored to the point of absurdity, as appears to be the case here, we are left asking what remains for schools to explore in the realm of the arts which may not cause offence to some constituency somewhere. Instead of proffering the feeble excuse that the children had 'not been taught about sexual diversity', the project actually offered the teachers a heaven-sent opportunity to raise this important issue in a context of reality, instead of having to address it in the theoretical tedium of an arid PSHE-Citizenship lesson. It would, I believe, have been for teachers to have done this; not Stonewall (who have a fairly obvious agenda). But to silence the debate altogether is crass. Indeed, it is educationally unprofessional.

To read that 280 children have worked on this project for a year, only to have it cruelly snatched away at the last minute, appals me. I have been a teacher for two decades and am an experienced senior leader: it seems incredible to me that no-one in the school had a handle on what the children were involved in and exposed to. If I were a parent of a child at this school, I’d be demanding to why.

The school’s Governing Body ought to launch a formal disciplinary inquiry into the conduct of the headteacher, not least because she had a duty of care from the outset to know precisely what sort of material the children were being exposed to. If, in her view, it included inappropriate language and wrongly propagated the virtues of homosexuality, how could she not have known about this from the outset? Does she not discern and study the materials or vet the individuals she lets loose on the children for whom she stands in loco parentis? Did no teacher under her authority express any concerns over the entire six-month rehearsal period, during which time these kids will (it seems) have already learned the new swear words and been inculcated into the belief that for boys to 'prefer a lad to a lass' is cool?

If art does not inspire, question or provoke, is it art? If this headteacher does not possess the intelligence, wisdom or experience to protect the children in her charge from harm – either morally (from swearing and homosexuality) or emotionally (from their sudden withdrawal from the project) – how can she possibly retain the confidence of the teachers, parents, and Governing Body to continue in her job?

this is astonishing - in this day and age - and how disappointing for all of those who worked so hard on this project - including you Lee.

Whilst this is very disappointing for a whole range of reasons, it might be explained by the thought that Bridlington is hardly at the forefront, or even in the mainstream of the cultural life of the nation. How sad that the Headteacher of the local school sees her role as confirming this lack of perspective in the next generation of Bridlington schoolchildren.

Even back in the heady days of Section 28 I can't remember such an outrageous incident. For this to be happening in 2011, with all the progress that has genuinely been made is deeply disturbing. My hat goes off to Lee Hall for standing up against this bigotry masquerading as education. My hat stays firmly on my head for the School staff, governers, East Rising Council and mealy-mouthed Opera North who apart from anything else seem to have forgotten all about artistic integrity.
While this has become an issue of national comment it is really down to the local people to reflect, and hopefully take a stand against narrow-mindedness and undeclared homophobia. Will they? If they don't it's an indication of the scale of the work that is desperately needed in our schools and communities to start to address the ignorance and denial that exist just beneath the surface of our tolerant society.

I work at Bay Primary - the children are involved in only one scene, and have practiced ONLY that scene over the last few months. No member of staff has seen the whole script, and it's a surprise to learn that the head has had a copy for several months (according to Lee on radio 4s front row programme). All we have been aware of is a child being rescued by the coastguard during a field trip lesson on the beach.

I'm really saddened to hear that this project will now not go ahead, and that there has been a breakdown of dialogue between the author and the school. I'm sure the children will be upset as well, and they will now all be asking questions about this 'gay controversy' in school tomorrow!

Lee, if you read this, I'm sure the staff were unaware of any potential problems and have enjoyed the rehearsal process.

I wonder if the bigots of Bridlington realise how lucky they were to have Lee Hall?

He could have been spending his time writing Hollywood scripts for millions of dollars and not wasting his time with petty minded jobsworths and bigots in the land that time forgot.

So much for the Big Society..

While I'd be against age-inappropriate content relating to sex, language or drug taking, the lyric read out by the BBC interviewer was in my view, insufficient justification for cancelling this Opera North performance. If that was their sole objection, then I'm with Lee Hall on this 100%.