The Latest Breaking News from Katharine Birbalsingh

Banning prayer rituals in school? Just get religion out of education completely

Many who praise a headteacher for preventing Muslim prayers are oddly sanguine about the number of faith schools in Britain, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee

The Guardian - UK · Jan 23, 2024

OPINION - Katharine Birbalsingh is right and the High Court now agrees: a school is not a church

Where education is concerned, everything is about leadership. My family and I live in Tyburnia, just off Edgware Road. Twenty-two years ago we (well, my wife) started looking for a primary school for our two daughters. My wife soon found out about a Church of England state primary, Hampden Gurney,…

Evening Standard · Jan 22, 2024

OPINION - The Standard View: Education should be a force for unity, not division

The modern world enjoys little more than dividing us and few feel that pull more strongly than young people. But education can be anathema to all that, a place where children of all backgrounds, abilities and interests can come together for the highest of purposes: learning.

Evening Standard · Jan 22, 2024

School prayer ban restored order says 'Britain's strictest headteacher'

School has been subjected to violence, intimidation and racial harassment, says Katharine Birbalsingh.

Evening Standard · Jan 17, 2024

Top London school taken to high court over prayer ban

Michaela community school, run by ‘Britain’s toughest headteacher’, Katharine Birbalsingh, introduced ban last March

The Guardian - UK · Jan 16, 2024

Christmas TV ads underscore how generosity, compassion and empathy still matter to people

Christmas ad campaigns have become headline-worthy moments in the British national calendar, hailed by pundits and awaited by an eager public. The fact that they are now teased, like big-screen cinema releases, is proof enough that, in calendar terms, the major-retailer Christmas ad is a seasonal event in itself.

The Conversation · Nov 17, 2023

James May and James O’Brien mock ‘Britain’s strictest headteacher’ over complaint about M&S Christmas advert

Katharine Birbalsingh accuses retailer of putting ‘two fingers up’ to traditional Christmas values with its campaign starring Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Hannah Waddingham and ‘Queer Eye’ presenter Tan France

The Independent UK · Nov 6, 2023

‘Britain’s strictest headteacher’ calls M&S Christmas advert starring Hannah Waddingham ‘abhorrent’

Katharine Birbalsingh was mocked by public figures including James May and James O’Brien for her letter condemning the campaign

The Independent UK · Nov 5, 2023

James May and James O’Brien mock ‘Britain’s strictest headteacher’ over complaint about M&S Christmas advert

Katharine Birbalsingh accuses retailer of putting ‘two fingers up’ to traditional Christmas values with its campaign starring Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Hannah Waddingham and ‘Queer Eye’ presenter Tan France

The Independent UK · Nov 5, 2023

James May leads mockery of ‘Britain’s strictest headteacher’ over complaint about M&S Christmas advert

Katharine Birbalsingh accuses retailer of putting ‘two fingers up’ to traditional Christmas values with its campaign starring Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Hannah Waddingham and ‘Queer Eye’ presenter Tan France

The Independent UK · Nov 4, 2023