A group of top state-funded secondary schools in London have been accused of political “indoctrination” after presenting students with teaching materials suggesting Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party represents “fascism”.
The Orion group, which operates eight publicly-funded schools in South London, presented their year 10 students (14-15 year olds) with a political spectrum illustration which placed the Reform party and the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) at the “fascism” end of the spectrum illustrated with a swastika, next to the British Nationalist Party (BNP) and Adolph Hitler’s National Socialists, the Daily Mail reported.
The illustration went on to state that some UKIP and Reform supporters hold “extremist views”.
The schools also plastered Reform deputy leader Richard Tice’s face on a separate handout on political “extremism”, which they defined as rejecting “British Values like mutual respect, are fully intolerant toward others, reject democracy as a means of governance or reject the existing social order.”
Students were further told that “far-Right beliefs can damage communities, increase hate crime and even threaten democracy”. They were instructed that “newspapers such as the Daily Mail and The Sun often publish dramatic headlines about immigration, especially about ‘small boat crossings’ in the English Channel.”
The lesson stated that using words such as “flood” or “invasion” to describe the influx of illegal migrants makes it sound threatening and can “make people feel afraid or angry, which far-Right groups then use to support their arguments.” Therefore, the school suggested that students refrain from getting news from such papers or YouTube, and instead turn to “trusted” news sources such as the BBC or the left-wing Guardian newspaper.
Reform UK, which has risen to the top of the polls and which is widely predicted to win the next general election, has increasingly faced leftist accusations of being “far-right” or “fascist”, despite the party being committed to the democratic process and holding positions firmly in the mainstream of political debate.
Previously, the BBC was forced to issue a public apology to the party after erroneously branding the populist as “far-right”, which it admitted was wrong and fell below the public broadcaster’s editorial standards.
In response to the lessons, Mr Tice wrote a letter to the Chief Executive Officer of Orion Education, Simon Garrill, warning of potential legal action, describing the materials as “factually inaccurate and grossly offensive but also defamatory in nature.”
“These materials are, in my view and that of my legal team, in breach of education guidelines and of your obligations as a registered charity to maintain political neutrality and balance,” Tice added.
“To present such inflammatory and misleading content to young people is a serious failing in duty and professional responsibility.”
The school group also drew rebuke from the Executive Headteacher of St Thomas the Apostle School, Serge Cefai, who told GB News that the bias represented “blatant breach of teaching standards” and warranted an investigation from education regulator Ofsted.
“This is wrong. Teachers should teach facts, not opinion. If they start teaching opinion, they’ll get into real trouble,” Cefai said. “I don’t like to use the word grooming, but that’s what it feels like. It’s not education, it’s indoctrination.”
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