Some of you may have heard about the appalling antisemitic graffiti found in the student toilets at lunchtime yesterday. Please be assured that we take the matter very seriously and have reported it to the police and the CST (Community Security Trust) and are undertaking our own internal investigation.

We are reproducing here the text of the letter that Mrs Hughes sent to parents yesterday afternoon and we will keep you updated on our action and any developments over the coming days.  We have reminded the whole school that antisemitism is abhorrent, unacceptable and will not be tolerated.  It has no place in our school and runs counter to the school’s long standing Unitarian ethos of tolerance and mutual respect. 

All of us in the school community are working hard, with the support of external organisations, to ensure that such an incident is not repeated in the future.

If you have any concerns please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Dear Parents,

I am deeply saddened to be writing to you this afternoon to let you know that a piece of antisemitic graffiti was found in one of the student toilets at lunchtime today. As you would expect, we acted swiftly as soon as we were aware of it, ensuring no more students had access to the bathroom and removing the graffiti immediately

Nonetheless, a number of students saw what had been written and this has had an impact on the school community this afternoon. Some students have been understandably shocked and upset; we have reassured them that it is being dealt with and reminded them of the places and people to which they can go for support. Our pastoral team has already reached out to several individuals.

Regrettably there have also been some who have been hyped up by the drama of rumours and gossip. We have been quick to remind them how upsetting this will be for many members of our school community, whether or not they are directly impacted by the current situation in Israel and Gaza.

I am mindful that some of your children will return home this afternoon entirely unaware of what has happened, although I am sure that the rumours will start to fly once their phones have come out of their Yondr pouches. I know that others are already devastated about something like this happening in our school community - as am I.

I will be speaking to the whole school tomorrow morning to reiterate unequivocally that antisemitism is abhorrent, unacceptable and will not be tolerated. It has no place in our school and I am personally horrified that any student should have expressed such a view, and in this way. While we are unable to identify the author of this graffiti, I will make clear that I expect them to contemplate their actions and urge them to come clean about their involvement.

I have no doubt that you will share my outrage and unhappiness at this situation and please rest assured that every adult in the school community will be working to ensure that this cannot happen again. I am also aware that you may feel in need of support for your child at this time and, using our new link with the organisation Tooled Up, share this resource which I hope you may find useful.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or any of my senior team if you have any concerns or feel that your child needs any additional support from us at this time.

With best wishes,

Lindsey Hughes

Headmistress