British Humiliation: Teachers ‘Denied Schoolboy, 10, Water on the Hottest Day of the Year to Avoid Upsetting Muslim Pupils During Ramadan’

Daily Mail
July 13, 2013

Kora Blagden has complained to the school as she says her son Luke (left) was told he could not drink water in case it upset pupils who were fasting.
Kora Blagden has complained to the school as she says her son Luke (left) was told he could not drink water in case it upset pupils who were fasting.

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.

A number of pupils at Charles Dickens Primary School, Portsmouth, Hampshire, are fasting during Ramadan.
A number of pupils at Charles Dickens Primary School, Portsmouth, Hampshire, are fasting during Ramadan.

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.

Read More