Hate Crimes In Schools Rise By 121% In Just Three Years

12 September 2019, 17:31 | Updated: 12 September 2019, 17:47

Hate crimes in schools and colleges have more than doubled in three years, an LBC investigation has found.

Data from all of the UK's police forces have shown there were 900 hate-related incidents in schools in 2015, meaning on average there were five a day.

But that figure rose to 1,987 in 2018, an increase of 121 per cent.

Of the reported incidents, 71 per cent were described as being racist.

Ashley Davis, 11, has dual heritage and had to be pulled out of his school in Cornwall because of the abuse he faced on a daily basis.

He said he was subjected to a number of racist remarks, including being called a "n****r", and dubbed a "burnt chicken nugget".

“I just hated school,” he told LBC reporter Matthew Thompson.

"I didn’t want to go there every morning. I would cry a lot before school and wouldn’t want to go.”

His mum Natalee claimed the school didn't know how to deal with the problem, and when she went to the police they did not offer any help.

She said she felt as though there was no choice to remove Ashley from school, and is calling on the education system to make schools more inclusive.

Natalee added: "It’s important for children to learn equality and inclusion. It should be part of the curriculum. I feel like Ashley has been a guinea pig."

Hate crime is defined as a victim being targeted on the basis of race, religion, sexuality, disability or other grounds.