The media has a tendency to fetishise stories about the Michaela School and its headteacher, Katharine Birbalsingh.
It all started with an article in The Times back in 2016 which posed the question: is this the strictest teacher in Britain?
The so-called ‘tiger teaching’ method has its proponents and critics. The strict behavioural rules and teaching methods undoubtedly produce results and Ofsted considers the school to be outstanding. On the other hand, the enforced silence in corridors and seemingly arbitrary detentions handed out to pupils have come across as dehumanising for students and teachers alike.
I am by no means an expert in pedagogy and the point of this article is not to cast judgment on the approach taking at the Michaela School. Instead the focus is on a High Court decision handed down today that upheld a ban on prayer rituals.1