Pupils in religious studies class 'were not upset' by images of Prophet Mohammed, it is claimed

Students in a religious studies class shown a cartoon of Prophet Mohammed were not outraged or upset, a pupil has confirmed for the first time.

A 14-year-old child in the Batley Grammar School lesson also insists the teacher did not predict how some children would tell their parents or foresee how his actions would trigger anger.

The West Yorkshire school sent pupils home early for Easter and suspended the teacher before apologising for his alleged behaviour after parents gathered outside the school for two days of protests. The tutor, who is not being named, has gone into hiding after reportedly receiving death threats.

Much of the fury around the incident stemmed from claims the teacher had stated to students how his actions would cause anger among some Muslim families.

But a pupil among the 20 to 25 youngsters at the religious ethics lesson said the teacher was “respectful” and the lesson continued “totally normally” after the section about blasphemy was discussed and the cartoon shown.

The child, who is not being named, gave the first account of what actually happened in class by answering questions submitted through one of the child’s parents.

“Neither he nor any of the other teachers in the class were being disrespectful,” they told the Telegraph. “It was a totally normal lesson. The children were warned he was going to show the picture.

“They all knew it was going to be there and everybody continued to participate in the lesson and debate normally after it was shown. No one was upset. Neither he nor the other teachers in the class were being disrespectful.”

The family said they believed “one child” had “twisted” what happened in class when talking to his parents later that day. It is understood one of the pupils’ fathers then rang the school demanding an apology for the image, understood to be the Charlie Hebdo cartoon.

In 2015, two Muslim brothers killed 12 people at the French satirical magazine’s headquarters in Paris after the cartoons were published.

Last October, teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded near his school in France after showing the same pictures to pupils.

Asked about the Batley teacher’s reputation, the child’s parent said: “He is just a genuine teacher who really cares about the children and their education.”

It is understood two other teachers participating in that lesson were also suspended because they were allegedly aware the image was going to be shown. However, the academy school has failed to respond to repeated requests to confirm or deny whether they have been suspended.

A man who has known the suspended teacher since the age of 12 when they began playing rugby together described him as a “decent and nice lad” who “would never say anything bad about anyone.”

He added: “He teaches at a mixed race school. So, if he was racist he wouldn’t do that in the first place.”

The school has launched an independent investigation into the circumstances in which the cartoon was shown. The case triggered a nationwide debate about offence and freedom of expression.

Nearly 70,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the teacher to be reinstated.

A counter petition calling for the tutor to be sacked because “he would have known any attempted depiction” of the prophet would have been “unacceptable” has received 28,000 signatures.