A primary school in Scotland has cancelled its Christmas show after receiving “racist and abusive” messages because it featured sympathy towards Syrian refugees.
The decision by Cauldeen primary school in Inverness follows rising tensions at other schools in Scotland over adult English classes being targeted by far-right demonstrators, which has also led to events being cancelled.
Highland council said the play, called Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, would not go ahead after “negative feedback” on social media and abusive messages directed at the school and its staff.
Made by Edgy Productions, which specialises in scripts and music for schools and youth theatre, the show featured a scene in which Santa shows two young people the hardships faced by Syrian refugees on the Turkish border.
Andrew Oxspring, its managing director, said the show’s themes were tolerance and peace, mirroring wider Christian messages at Christmas, and that it had been written in 2016, at the height of the Syrian civil war. “This was international headline news at the time and the world’s sympathies were with those refugees,” he said.
“If some people have mistakenly inferred that this children’s production has any content about the migrant situation which has sparked debate in the UK some nine years later, then their reaction is misplaced.
“The fact that this reaction has been racist and directed at the school is something we find deplorable. With regards to the school being accused of indoctrination, this is equally deplorable. It is not indoctrination to teach in schools that cold, hungry children caught up in foreign conflicts should be deserving of nothing but sympathy and help.”
Police Scotland said it was investigating allegations of threatening and abusive online communications. Highland council said the wellbeing of the school’s staff and pupils was its main priority.
“Instead of a Christmas show, classes will enjoy other festive learning activities in school. Under devolved school management, decisions like this are an operational matter for the school,” the council spokesperson said.
Tensions around migration policy have surged in Inverness after the UK government announced that Cameron barracks, a disused military base in the city, had been earmarked as a dispersal centre for 300 asylum seekers being moved out of hotels. That decision has yet to be finalised, but it prompted debate about the city’s track record of successfully housing Ukrainian and Syrian refugees in the past.
On Monday, protesters gathered outside Dalmarnock primary school in Glasgow’s east end to allege that its English classes meant strange adults were on the premises and posed a threat to children.
Glasgow city council officials said that was incorrect: the “read, write, count” classes were being organised for the parents of pupils at the school and its nursery, were not left unsupervised and did not need a criminal background check. “This campaign is misguided and toxic,” one official told the Bell, a Glasgow-based news website.
“We will also not tolerate strangers and vigilante groups coming into our schools claiming to keep children safe when they have a clear hidden agenda to incite fear and alarm by spreading misinformation and inciting violence which is bigotry fuelled and inflamed.”
In October, adult English-language classes at an education hub in Renfrew near Glasgow were cancelled after protests that adult men gathering at its gates were a threat to children going to a primary school there.
John McGhee, Glasgow council’s director of education, went to Dalmarnock primary school on Monday to reassure staff and talk to protesters. A council spokesperson said he “gave reassurance that there is no safeguarding issue in relation to the class. The classes will continue as part of the wider family learning offer across the city for parents and carers.”
Quick GuideContact us about this storyShow
The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.
If you have something to share on this subject, you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.
Secure Messaging in the Guardian app
The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.
If you don’t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select ‘Secure Messaging’.
SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post
If you can safely use the Tor network without being observed or monitored, you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform.
Finally, our guide at theguardian.com/tips lists several ways to contact us securely, and discusses the pros and cons of each.
Illustration: Guardian Design / Rich Cousins
Thank you for your feedback.
