Katharine Birbalsingh defends ban on school prayers in high court

Katharine Birbalsingh told the court she introduced the ban after pupils began praying in the playground against a backdrop of ‘appalling racial harassment of some of our teachers’. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

The headteacher of a school facing legal action over a ban on prayer rituals has defended the policy, arguing that it was vital in order to “maintain a successful learning environment where children of all races and religion can thrive”.

The case against Michaela community school in Brent, north-west London, which has been the subject of a two-day hearing at the high court in London this week, has been brought by one of its Muslim pupils, who claims the ban is discriminatory and is seeking to have it overturned.