Are British schools experiencing an epidemic of racism? Are classrooms filled with little budding neo-Nazis? Are four-year-olds unleashing a regime of bigoted terror upon their non-white classmates?
Not quite. Although, this is what the statistics would have you believe. According to official figures, the number of children being sent home from school for racism has more than doubled in the last three years. In 2021, there were 7,400 suspensions for racist behaviour. In 2024, there were over 15,000. Nearly 2,500 of those cases took place within primary schools, where children are no older than 11. Some reports even involve pupils from reception, where children are aged just four or five.
