Richard Hartley-Parkinson for Metro.co.uk




A teenager has been suspended from a school in Croydon after he spoke to a pupil of the opposite sex.

Muslim-faith Al-Khair school booted the child out of class because they broke the rules that prohibits ‘through any medium’ interaction between boys and girls unless they are closely related.

A parent complained to the Sunday Times about the policy saying that the school was failing to integrate pupils into British society.

They said: ‘How are these kids going to integrate in the wider shape of society when they have to work in the same places that [people of the opposite sex] are working? This is totally nonsense.



‘To me, as a Muslim parent, if my daughter or son goes to a Muslim school and she or he speaks in good manner to any boy or girl, regardless of what background, it doesn’t matter, because I believe this is not against my religion. What is this nonsense policy? I cannot understand it.’

The school opened in July 2003 with 350 pupils in both its primary and secondary school.

Its website says it hopes pupils will become ‘Muslim professionals who will not only serve as role models for generations of Muslims to come, but also as intelligent and thoughtful citizens who will serve as ambassadors between Islam and the West.’

Mark Thomas, spokesman for the school, said: ‘The school’s policy is clearly published and parents send their children [to the school] in the full knowledge of the code, which only prohibits communication not conducive to the educational environment we promote.’