Britain’s strictest head hails court ruling upholding her Muslim prayer ban as a ‘victory for all schools’
BRITAIN’S strictest head has hailed a court ruling upholding her Muslim prayer ban as a “victory for all schools”.
Katharine Birbalsingh banned prayer rituals to prevent division among children.
A Muslim pupil at the non-faith school went to the High Court arguing the policy was discriminatory.
But a judge yesterday threw out her claim.
Defending the case is estimated to have cost taxpayers £500,000 — with the girl getting £150,000 legal aid.
Ms Birbalsingh, who founded Michaela School in Wembley, North London, in 2014, said after the judgment: “A school should be free to do what is right for the pupils it serves.
“The decision is a victory for all schools.
“Multiculturalism works at Michaela.”
The pupil, who cannot be named, argued the no-prayer policy uniquely affected her Muslim faith.
Ms Birbalsingh said the ban was necessary because teachers had faced death threats.
She also said she had seen “Muslim pupils put under pressure by a tiny number of others to fast, pray, drop out of the choir, to wear a hijab”.
The free school gets some of the best GCSE results, with an emphasis on discipline.
Mr Justice Linden said: “The claimant at the very least impliedly accepted, when she enrolled, that she would be subject to restrictions on her ability to manifest her religion.”
In a statement the pupil said she was “very disappointed”.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan backed the ruling, saying: “Heads are best placed to take decisions on what is permitted in their school.”
Ex-Home Secretary Suella Braverman, a former chair of governors at the school when it first opened, said she was delighted with the decision.