BY RAYMOND BROWN

A father says his Muslim daughter was served pork, despite asking for the vegetarian option at a Cambridge school.
The girl, who wears a headscarf, told her father she was given the meat by catering staff at Chesterton Community College. School bosses launched an investigation into what happened, but said their findings were “inconclusive”.
However, the father said it was a member of staff at the school who pointed out his daughter was eating pork.
The father of the teenage student, who cannot be named for legal reasons, wrote a letter of complaint to the school.
He wrote of his “sadness” at having to make the complaint, saying “please be aware, as Muslims, we are not religiously permitted to consume pork meat”.
The father described how his daughter was told by catering staff serving lunch the sausage and mash was vegetarian, but when the student started to eat the meal a teaching staff member asked if she was Muslim and told her she was “eating pork”.
The father wrote: “I am furious that such instances can happen to children by members of staff, the very individuals that we trust our children’s wellbeing with. As well as astonished and deeply hurt by such occurrence, I am defiantly putting this forward to the attention of the police and trust that this should be made public.”
He added: “This is by no way acceptable, therefore I expect definitive action be taken.”
The father told the News: “I don’t want this to become an anti-Muslim issue but if a vegetarian or someone with a medical condition had been served the wrong food I am sure they would be furious too.
“My daughter was told by a member of staff she was eating pork.
“If they said it was a genuine mistake I would accept that.”
The school last week called in bosses of the catering firm which supplies the food. They have now labelled all food “clearly” and staff are to undergo retraining to remind them about religious and other dietary requirements.
Lucy Scott, headteacher, said: “After a very detailed investigation and a meeting with the father, we did end up with an inconsistent and inconclusive picture.
“Our food provider has labelled all food clearly and has refreshed their staff training about food requirements for different students.”
A school dinner lady was reportedly sacked from Queen Edith’s School, Cambridge for accidentally serving pork to a Muslim pupil last year.
Alison Waldock claimed she served pupil Khadija Darr gammon after the youngster pointed to the dish on the lunch menu. British Muslim groups branded the decision to sack her an “overreaction” after the error at Queen Edith Primary School.
Source: Cambridge News
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