Daily Mail
July 13, 2013
An angry mother has accused a primary school of denying her child water on one of the hottest days of the year for fear of upsetting pupils observing Ramadan.
Kora Blagden, 32, claimed a teacher at her son Luke’s school refused to let the 10-year old drink from his water bottle because it was unfair to fasting classmates.
Many pupils at Charles Dickens Primary School, Portsmouth, Hampshire, are fasting during Ramadan, which means they refrain from taking food or water between sunrise and sunset for around 30 days, depending on the moon.
Mother-of-four Kora said: ‘Just before bedtime me and my sons Luke, ten, and Alfie, eight, were talking about Ramadan as we had seen it on the news.
‘Luke said to me he was told he wasn’t allowed to drink in class by his teacher.
‘The reason being, a child who is fasting had a headache and the teacher said it would be unfair if the other children drank in front of the pupil.
‘They normally have their bottles on their table but they were kept in a tray by the teacher.
‘He went along with it but he was thirsty and didn’t want to offend the other children.
‘Alfie said he was allowed to drink in the morning but not in the afternoon.