STANDARD
A north London school led by “Britain’s strictest headteacher” has won a High Court battle with a student over its controversial prayer ban.
Michaela Community School faced a legal challenge from a Muslim pupil over claims she had been discriminated against on the basis of her religion.
The Wembley school, led by headteacher Katharine Birbalsingh, imposed the crackdown in March last year, insisting its approach promoted “inclusion and social cohesion between pupils”.
Delivering his ruling on Tuesday, Mr Justice Linden said the school had been entitled to impose a ban on “prayer rituals” and the student chose the school knowing that it had strict rules.
He said that while the ban would be detrimental to Muslim students, it was “a proportionate means of achieving the legitimate aims” of the school.
The judge also found that the headteacher had been justified in suspending the student, based on the account of a teacher that she had been “ extremely rude and defiant”, as the prayer row continued to grow.
