The headteacher at The Grammer School at Leeds has spoken on the record over accusations the school has 'excused' racism in the past, leaving many students dissatisfied with the punishments handed out to those responsible.
Sue Woodroofe confirmed that an investigative committee had been established at the Alwoodley school to investigate the accusations. She also claimed that the way one particular incident from 2015 was handled 'wasn't enough'.
As reported on LeedsLive earlier this month, students Thelma Khupe and Karissa Johnson took to social media to speak out over their experiences at the school, sharing screengrabs of racist and vulgar messages from fellow pupils.
The students claimed staff "dismissed the incidents as a little disagreement".
One of the messages, sent by a former pupil, reads: "If you want black equality go live in n**** land where your sh** a** culture is accepted."
Another messaged saying: "It's true African n*****s are some of the most backwards people in the world."
In response, hundreds of former students from black and minority ethnic backgrounds signed a letter sent to senior leaders claiming their handling of racist abuse was poor.
Sue Woodroofe, who became principal of the school in April 2016, spoke on BBC Look North on Thursday night, and said:
“The original incident back in 2015 was indeed dealt with at the time according to systems and procedures. I didn’t know about it because at that stage I wasn’t at the school but when I found out about it sometime later, I was absolutely horrified as you can imagine.
“And then of course, within the last couple of weeks when the girls have come forward and made it clear that actually they’re still deeply distressed by what happened, I immediately looked into all of the original records and files to make sure that actually, there was a thorough process followed which there was, an apology given which there was, and a clear expression to the whole of the senior community at that time of what was and was not acceptable moving forwards.
So that was tackled, but my feeling personally over the last few days and weeks has been at that current moment where we find ourselves now, actually that isn’t enough which is why last week I did ask the board of governors if we could institute an investigative committee to talk a proper look into what happened five years ago and indeed look into any issues there may be now to make sure this can be a moment of reflection.”
