The BHA has written in protest to Nelson Thomlinson School in Wigton, Cumbria, after it ignored requests from sixth form pupils to withdraw themselves from religious worship.
Under Section 55 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 all sixth form pupils in England are legally entitled to withdraw from acts of collective worship, regardless of the views of their parents, carers or guardians. This part of act came into effect in 2007. However, requests to be withdrawn from a recent carol service by sixth form pupils at the school have been ignored by the school where their parent’s indicated that they were happy for their children to attend.
BHA Campaigns Officer Paul Pettinger said ‘the law on sixth form pupils withdrawing from collective worship is clear. Rather than welcoming that sixth form pupils had decided to affirm their own beliefs by not taking part in worship, the school seems to have instead forced some of them to attend. This not only offends the pupils’ dignity by failing to respect their right to freedom of belief and conscience, but it also infringes upon their legal right not to take part.’
‘Only last year Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights called for any child of ‘sufficient maturity, intelligence and understanding’ to be given the right to withdraw from compulsory religious worship in schools, not only those over 16. The laws requiring religious worship should be replaced with a requirement for schools to hold inclusive assemblies that would be suitable for all pupils. However, it is outrageous that for as long as the current laws remain a school should fail to respect the legal provisions currently in place that allow sixth form students to choose for them self the religious worship they take part in’.
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For further comment or information, contact Paul Pettinger on 020 7462 4993.
The British Humanist Association is the national charity representing and supporting the interests of ethically concerned, non-religious people in the UK. It is the largest organisation in the UK campaigning for an end to religious privilege and to discrimination based on religion or belief, and for a secular state.