Rotherham riots spark school debate on immigration

BBC News

06-03-2025

On 4 August 2024 a violent mob chanting "high-octane racist abuse" lay siege to a hotel being used to house asylum seekers near Rotherham, resulting in more than 80 people being jailed.In the wake of the rioting two schools in nearby Sheffield have been using the events to discuss immigration and reflect on the impact of the disorder.Wales High School in Kiveton Park's intake is predominantly white British, but at Oasis Academy, on the site of the old Don Valley Stadium, 97% of children are from ethnic minority backgrounds.Wales High's assistant headteacher, Hannah Feerick, said some of the student body could be "vulnerable to right-wing ideologies", while at Oasis, the focus is on ensuring children feel safe and welcome in their new country.
Ms Feerick said: "It is really important that we are able to provide a balanced education for the students so that they can voice safely their opinions, but we also can challenge safely any misconceptions that they may have."The school has added more PHSE (personal, social, health and economic issues) lessons to the curriculum to allow for discussion about immigration.It said it had not recorded any increases in incidents of racial discrimination at the school.Year 10 students spoke to the BBC during Immigration Week.Beth said: "I think it's really important that everyone is educated on things like this, because it's when people aren't, that's what leads to views that are harmful. They don't fully understand it so that makes them feel threatened."I think that's why things like this happen, they feel they need to blame someone, so they just blame the most vulnerable person or the most vulnerable group." Sophia remembered rehearsing for a show in Sheffield during the Manvers riots and her teacher locking the doors behind them in fear of the disorder spreading."It was the realisation that it feels unsafe to be out in town at night," she said. "I remember talking to people about it because there was a lack of understanding and people were unsure of what was true and what was false."Immigration explained: Migrants, refugees, and visas defined
The violence was triggered by the deaths of three schoolgirls in a knife attack in Southport, Merseyside. Rumours spread that the attacker was an immigrant from a Muslim background who had arrived in the UK by crossing the Channel illegally.Axel Rudakubana, who was eventually jailed for the murders, was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents of Christian faith.Another pupil at Wales High, James, said: "I thought it was quite shocking - it is really quite scary to think that these are people living in the community and it is scary to think that these sorts of attitudes are so widely accepted."
Ten miles away at Oasis Academy, it is acknowledged that anti-immigration rhetoric affects many pupils personally.They come from 46 different countries and regularly learn about each other's cultures.Eshaal, 13, said: "I'm an immigrant myself. I moved here when I was six, I moved for my education and this really upset me because I don't like the way that immigrants are being grouped or classed." Nafiesa, 11, said: "It makes me feel upset how people are just describing immigrants as just one large group of people. "They describe them as horrid, like they don't belong here."
Sandra, 14, came to Sheffield from Slovakia when she was four years old. She said: "We came for a better experience, and we do have a lot of opportunities but we also have a lot of bad experiences. We get a lot of racist comments."I am worried about the future because we came here for a better life, and what if people attack us instead. What if we get more hate, which makes us leave?"She said her school was very inclusive, allowing pupils to learn about other cultures through music, food and celebrations.
Assistant principal Dana Abdulkarim said: "Immigration is incredibly important because we are a global school. "Ninety seven per cent of Oasis Academy Don Valley from 2-16 are from non-white communities. "We are represented by 46 different countries, 26 different languages. "It would be remiss of us to not lean into that and embrace it as our unique element as an education centre."She added: "Given what happened at the Holiday Inn in Rotherham last year, we reviewed our curriculum. "We looked at where we are with recognising diversity, and what kind of uncomfortable conversations do we need to have with our children?"These kind of issues can make a child retreat and as educators, we have to teach children beyond the curriculum. "Immigration is who they are."Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.