Muslim schoolchildren taking exams this summer should be advised they can be exempted from Ramadan fasting and “made aware that Islam does not require them to put their futures in jeopardy”, the head teachers' union has urged.
The intervention by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) representing head teachers and college principals comes ahead of a Ramadan month of dawn-to-sunset fasting that will clash with summer GCSE and A-Level exams in a way that has not occurred in the UK since the 1980s.
For UK Muslims, Ramadan 2016, due to last from 6-8 June to 7 July, will coincide with the summer solstice – the longest day of the year - and have the longest average fasting hours in the 33-year, lunar-based cycle that determines when the holy month occurs. [The Independent] Read more
