Suspected race fight at Walderslade Girls School
Published: 16:28, 02 March 2023
Updated: 16:16, 03 March 2023
School bosses have confirmed a number of permanent exclusions have been made following a mass brawl, which went viral on social media.
A video of the pupils from Walderslade Girls' School scrapping in the attack – suspected to be racially motivated – occurred last week.
The footage shows a young white girl making her way into a classroom and attacking a black student, before a brawl erupts between the girls and their friends.
The youngsters punch, kick and pull each other's hair, knocking tables out of the way, while other students watch on, including some recording the incident.
Dozens of girls fill the room as the fight takes place, with teachers doing their best to stop the violence.
Many people took to social media to slam the alleged racist attack, including the sister of a 15-year-old girl who was beaten.
Posting four clips of the fight on Twitter, she says her "brave" sister has been getting bullied for the past months "because of the colour of her skin".
It has now emerged that a team from the independent education regulators, Ofsted, were on site at the secondary school in Bradfield Avenue, Chatham, inspecting the school the following two days.
The incident has prompted Chatham MP Tracey Crouch to seek urgent action.
She said: "It is a complex and sensitive issue but it is one that I have spoken with the police, councillors and the Regional Schools' Commissioner about.
"I am not just concerned about those directly involved in these incidents but also about the impact this is having on the education of other pupils and the personal wellbeing of staff, who we often forget are the ones who put themselves in physical danger to control violence in schools.
"Urgent interventions are being put in place and I would hope we don’t see incidences like this happening again both inside and outside of school."
Acting head teacher Louise Campbell said the incident is being taken "very seriously" and some students have been permanently excluded.
The school boss blamed social media for misinformation spreading about the incident.
She said: "I am concerned this story has gained traction over misinformation surrounding this. As you know, misinformation spreads like wildfire on social media without any control or accountability.
"There is absolutely no segregation room. The groups involved here are two small groups of girls numbering around 12 in a big school of 700 pupils.
"This small number of girls severely dislike each other and have spent an enormous amount of time causing issues with each other over social media.
"This totally unwelcome situation was brought into our school by the girls involved and resulted in this incident which was filmed and shared widely on social media.
"The 'segregation room' was not that. This was a room given to a group of girls who wanted a quiet space. There are several quiet rooms throughout the school at break and lunch time for all different groups of students.
"This was also absolutely not a black students only room, this was a room for a group of girls to access when they pleased and could come and go as they wanted.
'As a school we don't accept or condone discrimination of any sort...'
"The students weren't locked into the room for fear of their safety, this was the room they were using as it has close access to the canteen and toilets and is often used for private meetings which is why there is a lock on it.
"As a school we don't accept or condone discrimination of any sort. There is no place for racism, sexism or homophobia in this school.
"The school has made moves to address any sort of unwelcome, disruptive or violent behaviour and a number of outside agencies have been involved in supporting us to move forward.
"We will not accept or condone aggressive behaviour in this school and serious consequences were issued immediately to those responsible as a result of this."
A proposal to merge the academy's Skills for Life Trust (SFLT) with Rainham Mark Education Trust (RMET) to form a super provider overseeing eight schools has since been scrapped.
Nathan Ward, chairman of RMET, said a due diligence exercise had raised "significant concerns in several areas".
In a letter to parents, he wrote: "Although as a trust we are willing to support Skills for Life in this challenging time, we will not be continuing with the merger.
"During the consultation process, I have stressed that if anything emerged through our due diligence that meant the risks of merger outweighed the benefits, then trustees would always act in the best interests of RMET and we have kept our word."
Tom Maddison, chairman of the SFLT, revealed the school's wouldn't be merging.
He said: “While our due diligence had not yet been completed, we did, in consultation with RMET, conclude that a merger with RMET at this time would not be in the best interests of our pupils, staff or schools. We are therefore not pursuing this course of action.”
A spokesman for Ofsted said: "I can confirm we inspected Walderslade Girls school on and February 22/23.
"The inspection report will be published in line with our usual processes.
Cllr Clive Johnson, Medway Labour group's shadow cabinet member for children’s services, said: "Many of us will have seen videos, photos, and news reports of tensions in a local school.
"Those tensions seem to have resulted in unacceptable behaviour from some members of the school community. It is vital that all members of the community act calmly, with consideration and with respect to all others.
"The focus of all of us should be the well-being and safety of school students. I have been briefed by council officers and I have called on them to ensure that the school leadership, staff and students are given the support and resources that they need to resolve these issues speedily, which may include wider council services.
"I also call on the academy trust, responsible for this school, to take the urgent action required to ensure educational and well-being standards are safeguarded.
"I also note these tensions have occurred at a time when Kent Police’s Schools Team have been withdrawn."
The findings of the Ofsted inspection will be published in the coming weeks.
Skills for Life Trust has Greenacre Academy, Walderslade Girls School, Hilltop Primary Academy in Strood, Warren Wood Primary Academy in Rochester and Chantry Primary Academy in Gravesend under its umbrella.
RMET oversees Rainham Mark Grammar, Riverside Primary in Rainham and Twydall Primary.
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Nicola Jordan