18 August 2019

Vegetarian student disqualified from GCSE paper for 'obscene racial comments' after she criticised halal meat

A student was disqualified from her GCSE exam after she was accused of making “obscene racial comments” by criticising halal meat.

Abigail Ward, 16, a strict vegetarian, wrote during a Religious Studies exam in June that she found the idea of halal meat "absolutely disgusting".

The exam board OCR later disqualified Miss Ward from the exam, accusing her of making "obscene racial comments".

The decision was only overturned when her school, Gildredge House in Eastbourne, appealed the decision, insisting Miss Ward had been expressing her distaste for halal butchers and was not making any comment about Muslims.

The school added that no other comments made in the paper could be construed as racist.

The exam board upheld the appeal and later apologised for the “upset and stress” they caused Miss Ward, the Telegraph reported. [Evening Standard] Read more