London primary school bans fasting during Ramadan

A primary school in East London has banned fasting during Ramadan.

A primary school in East London has banned fasting during Ramadan.

Barclay Primary School made the announcement in a letter to parents yesterday, although a paragraph at the end of the letter hints that there may be exceptions to the rule.

After announcing that the school appreciates that this is a “very significant and special time of year for our Muslim community” and saying that the school would be celebrating what Ramadan means next week in an assembly, the acting head Aaron Wright then proceeded to prohibit fasting during school hours.

The Lion Academy Trust runs four schools across East London so the prohibition on fasting would also apply to three other schools.Over 2,350 pupils attend all four schools and the proportion of Muslim students is thought to be high.

Although Muslims traditionally are not required to fast until they have attained puberty, Muslim children often begin fasting at an early age.