Anti-Semitic hatred in English schools that adults have failed to stop

“They told me my place was in a gas chamber.” Jonathan Frisher is seventeen years old, lives in Cheshire and was the only Jewish pupil at his school. Speaking to Sky News, he described the insults from his classmates and how common it was to see Nazi symbols and salutes. Above all, he spoke of the loneliness of someone who, whilst still a child, had to explain to others why such behaviour was wrong. “I was convinced then, and I still am today, that the initiative must come from the government, and that teachers have a role to play in combating antisemitism. The responsibility to combat it lies with them.”

In Britain, the government’s initiative appears to have finally materialised. Jonathan’s account accompanies the previews of the independent report on anti-Semitism in English schools and colleges, commissioned by the government from David Bell, former head of Ofsted, the body responsible for inspecting educational institutions. The document sets out 27 recommendations to protect pupils and help teachers recognise and combat anti-Semitism.

The first alarming finding to emerge from the survey is that, amongst those interviewed, one in five students has witnessed incidents of anti-Semitism, and three in five Jewish students say they have experienced them. Bell, speaking on Sky News, said he was deeply struck both by the prevalence of anti-Semitism and by the frequency with which it goes unreported.

“A general commitment to combating racism, prejudice or hatred has not adequately identified antisemitism as a specific form of hatred,” he explained. “We must call antisemitism by its name, recognising it as a particular form of prejudice and hatred, because if you do not name it, you do not really know what you are facing or how you can respond.”

The difficulty lies not only in recognising it, but in convincing those who experience it that reporting it serves any purpose. Fewer than half of the students interviewed believed that reporting an incident would lead to action being taken. This is why Bell is calling for anti-Semitism to be tackled as a matter of pupil safety and protection, with clear procedures for recording complaints and taking action. The same protection should apply to teachers who are victims, whilst inspectors should check that schools are actually implementing the measures.

The report proposes specific training for teachers, teaching materials and a national helpline through which headteachers can quickly receive advice. It also calls on schools to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism. Lessons on the Holocaust should present anti-Semitism as a central and explicit element, whilst religious education should also include contemporary Judaism. The report proposes meetings with Jewish communities, visits to synagogues and initiatives for Holocaust Remembrance Day. Media literacy should also help pupils recognise and counter anti-Jewish hatred and conspiracy theories circulating online.

Bell also addresses the issue of teachers’ political impartiality. Pupils must be able to “discuss current affairs and difficult issues without feeling that teachers are imposing their own opinions on them”, he explained. The recommendation also concerns symbols sometimes worn by teachers, which some families believe contribute to creating a hostile atmosphere for Jewish pupils. Whilst there is no blanket ban, the call for schools to assess their appropriateness could lead some institutions to ban them.

In Epping, Essex, a mother has said she withdrew her 13-year-old daughter from school following a dispute over pro-Palestine badges worn by a teacher. According to the woman, after she raised her concerns, the teacher began imposing unfair disciplinary measures on the girl, including punishment on her birthday. In Devon, some parents have objected to lessons which, in their view, fuelled hostility towards Jewish pupils. During one such lesson, according to accounts, a teacher allegedly showed images of Palestinians throwing stones at Israeli soldiers, describing them as people fighting “against an army committing genocide”. 

The accounts also involve very young children. At an Anglican primary school in London, according to the parents’ account, two six-year-old Jewish pupils were called ‘child murderers’ whilst singing in Hebrew during a day dedicated to different cultures. 

The survey was commissioned on 4 March, in a country still reeling from the attack on the Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester in October 2025. The Department for Education had already announced a seven-million-pound investment to tackle antisemitism in schools, colleges and universities. Among the figures cited at the start of the investigation was a trade union survey indicating that 51 per cent of Jewish members had experienced anti-Semitism at work in the previous year. More than half of those who had raised the issue felt that adequate measures had not been taken.

In the first half of 2026, 1,926 incidents of anti-Semitism were recorded across the United Kingdom, compared with 1,598 in the same period of 2025. Incidents linked to schools rose from 112 to 178, the highest figure ever recorded for the first six months of the year. In March, four ambulances belonging to the Jewish organisation Hatzola were set on fire; in April, synagogues were targeted and two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green, north London. In July, the government announced a three-year plan worth over 250 million pounds to protect Jewish communities, involving more than 500 additional police officers in England and Wales and increased security around schools, synagogues and community centres.

According to information obtained by Sky News, the Department for Education intends to adopt all 27 recommendations, with a review of progress to take place in a year’s time. The full findings of the report are due to be published tomorrow.