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Published:
March 20, 2006
Court
rejects racial abuse claim against Burnham-On-Sea school
A
mother who claimed her son was racially abused at a fee-paying
school in Burnham-On-Sea lost her claim for damages on Monday
March 20th.
 Aliya
Smethurst had claimed her son Mikhail was called "mud face"
as a six-year-old at St Christopher's School in Burnham.
She
also claimed she suffered ill-treatment while she worked at the
school as a boarding house matron.
But
at Swindon County Court on Monday, the judge ruled against Mrs
Smethurst, who now lives in Bedfordshire.
Mrs
Smethurst, 37, was seeking damages from the school and its head
teacher Diane Symes for racial discrimination, negligence regarding
bullying, personal injury and assault on Mikhail, now 11.
She
claimed her son had been verbally abused and was regularly kicked,
punched and spat at, leaving him bruised and lacking in confidence.
At an earlier hearing, Paul Gilroy, for the school, said Mrs Smethurst
had been "principally motivated by bad faith."
Mr
Gilroy told the court that, during the period in question, Mrs
Smethurst had called in seven different agencies, including the
Health and Safety Executive and the police, to investigate her
concerns about the school.
He
said what Mrs Smethurst claimed was discriminatory behaviour by
the school was a response to her own conduct. Mrs Smethurst, who
now lives in Arlesey, Bedfordshire, was not at Monday's hearing.
Her
lawyers said they would be seeking permission to appeal against
Judge Charles Wade's ruling. St Christopher's School has since
closed due to falling pupil numbers.
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