Not all faith schools are the same

At last, a British school where pupils are inculcated in a strict moral code, but also taught to think for themselves. Get your kids’ names down for the King Fahad Academy in Acton, west London, quick.

It’s a Muslim faith school, as you might have guessed from its title, but don’t let that put you off. The pupils, from the age of five, are taught that Christians are ‘pigs’ and Jewish people are ‘apes’ — none of that dripping-wet equivocation you get from the national curriculum. And crucially, while the teaching is strict, the children are rewarded for ingenuity and inventiveness. For example, they are asked to think up ‘some repugnant characteristics of Jews’. Terrific stuff — exactly the sort of lesson I’d have enjoyed as a schoolkid. I rang the academy and asked them if they might be able to fax over a list of their top ten repugnant characteristics of Jews, as provided by the student body — just so my own kids can see the sort of standard they’ll need to aim for — but they weren’t willing to do this for some reason. That’s a shame. A spokesman for the school told me he couldn’t speak to me, but directed me to a press statement put out by the school’s director which denies ‘all’ the allegations about the place. Awww, come on, guys, why hide your light under a bushel? ‘What do you tell your pupils about Jews and Christians, then, if you don’t say they are apes and pigs?’ I asked. But they wouldn’t tell me. Maybe they say Jews and Christians are just great — who knows?