A London secondary school has taken ‘disciplinary action’ against a student for allegedly using a racist slur on social media.
The move came after a pupil posted a Snapchat video in which she sang along to a song containing the n-word.
It then escalated when a screenshot of a social media message, allegedly written by another white student at the school, was shared on Twitter.
It criticised the idea that it was racist for a white person to sing along to the n-word in a song.
The incident prompted students to protest outside the school with ‘Stop the Racism’ banners.
The school has confirmed that “disciplinary action has been taken over this (and other unrelated matters)”, but did not disclose any further details and did not respond to a HuffPost UK request for clarification.
In a statement, Plumstead Manor School headteacher Douglas Greig said: “We do not tolerate or accept any form of prejudice or extreme views at Plumstead Manor School.
“Contrary to recent social media posts by others we have indeed disciplined any students who have used offensive and racist language online.
“We have listened to students who rightly voiced their concern about this during a protest, while the school day ultimately had to carry on. These views do not represent the views of our community and are utterly against our ethos and values.”
Greig added that “hate-filled or racist views of any kind have no place in our community”.
The matter was initially shared across social media on Saturday by the sister of a Plumstead Manor School student.
Criticising the school for its perceived lack of action at the time, she wrote: “So there’s a white girl in my sisters school that thinks it is okay to say the word n***a and this is her reason why. She really said ‘for all the black people protesting you will never be heard’ I am more disappointed that the school @PlumsteadManor has not addressed this issue.”
In a serious of tweets published on Saturday, Plumstead Manor explained that it was aware of the issue that has arisen and the views of racial division go against the school’s values.
One tweet read: “Plumstead Manor is a thriving secondary school where we cherish and celebrate the wide range of cultures, faiths, backgrounds that make up our whole. We are a vibrant and diverse community and there is no place for hatred or prejudice of any kind in our community.”
Cllr David Gardner, deputy leader and cabinet member for children’s services and schools at Greenwich Council, said: “This incident did not take place on school premises, and I know the school does not tolerate any kind of such behaviour.
“There is no place for racist language online, or anywhere else, and I applaud Plumstead Manor School for its swiftly taking action to investigate and discipline the students concerned for this totally unacceptable behaviour.”