Pupils at a private school in London are being taught about ‘white privilege’ which includes discussions on the public’s treatment of Meghan Markle in relation to her Royal racism claims and why James Bond has always been played by a white man.
The curriculum also asks why all British Prime Ministers so far have been white.
St Dunstan’s College, based in Catford, southeast London, introduced the programme in response to the Black Lives Matter movement which resurged last year after the killing of George Floyd in the US.
The school, where fees can go up to £19,000 a year, accepts children from three years old but the white privilege lessons start from year nine.
Meghan and Harry are a hot topic, with discussions in place about the pair’s interview with Oprah Winfrey in which it was brought up that some royal family members were concerned about Archie’s skin tone, reported The Sunday Times.
The interview shocked viewers as the couple laid bare the extent of their rift with the Firm and accused an unnamed Royal Family member of racism, suggesting the relative had asked ‘how dark’ their son would be.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said that some members of the royal family were concerned about Archie’s skin colour
The pair also accused the Palace of failing to support a ‘suicidal’ Meghan.
Why James Bond has always been portrayed as a white man is also considered in the curriculum, although the next actor to play him could be of black heritage with Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page a favourite among contenders.
The actor, 31, is a popular pick with the bookies to take on 007 after he hinted he could be a good successor to Daniel Craig earlier this year.
The school, where fees can go up to £19,000 a year, accepts children from three years old but the white privilege lessons start from year nine
Headmaster Nicholas Hewlett told MailOnline: ‘This is all about helping young people understand the importance of unpicking, listening and taking about societal issues that matter.
‘We run the risk of an increasingly polarised society where different generations become entrenched in their positions of difference and that cannot be healthy.
The white privilge course looks at why James Bond has always been played by a white man
‘Schools have an essential role to tackle these issues and concepts by airing them and discussing them, helping young people hear different viewpoints and articulate their own thinking.
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‘This is far more important than what white privilege is or isn’t.’
This year the headmaster announced that he was married to a man in an assembly.
Students are also learning about ‘microaggressions’.
This describes instances where daily commonplace behaviours which may seem harmless can marginalise those from minority backgrounds such as touching a pupil’s Afro or not making an effort to learn a student’s name if it’s too difficult to pronounce.
Pupils will look at real life examples, such as when Dawn Butler MP was told the lift she was using in the House of Commons was not for cleaners and when Tory MP James Gray mixed up cabinet ministers Nadhim Zahawi and Sajid Javid, who are both of Asian heritage.
Last week Tory MP Jonathon Gullis called the term ‘white privilege’ ‘racist’ and ‘extremist’.
Stoke-on-Trent North MP Jonathon Gullis said in a statement he had been told ‘lefty Twitter is in meltdown’ because he said the use of the term in schools, colleges and university’s is extremist
After receiving backlash for his comments, Gullis (pictured) has since defended his comments and urged those believing everyone who is white is privileged to visit parts of Stoke-on-Trent where poverty is rife
He also said teachers who use the term should face a disciplinary hearing and that people saying it should be reported to Prevent.
After receiving backlash for his comments, Gullis has since defended his comments and urged those believing everyone who is white is privileged to visit parts of Stoke-on-Trent where poverty is rife.
Gullis said on Facebook: ‘I would urge any left woke warrior to visit Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke and try [to] tell the people there that they are somehow ‘privileged’. I suspect they wouldn’t like the response they get.’
Debate about whether the term should be used in schools has been around a lot in recent months.
Earlier this year Tory Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch said the phrase ‘white privilege’ should not be taught at schools because it is ‘unnecessarily antagonistic’.
She wrote in the Sunday Telegraph: ‘As someone who grew up in Nigeria, where there is only one skin colour but over 300 ethnic groups, the more ethnic identity is emphasised the weaker national identity becomes.’
But this summer the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education (NATRE) also argued that the concept should be taught to introduce that ‘racism is a problem for white people, rather than for black people’, The Telegraph reported.
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