Leo Okenibirhe-Sexton, 11, was excluded from Studio West school in Newcastle after a boy heard him use the word ‘n*****’, but his mother Irene (also pictured) defended him
A mixed-raced schoolboy has been suspended from class for alleged racism after using the ‘n-word’.
Leo Okenibirhe-Sexton, 11, was excluded from Studio West school in Newcastle after another boy heard him use the word ‘n*****’ to a classmate.
But his mother Irene Sexton argued it was unfair that Leo, who is of black heritage, was treated as though he had used the term in the context of racist abuse.
She said: ‘That’s not racism when two mixed-race kids use that language between each other.
‘There’s a big difference when it’s two best friends saying it, as part of black culture, something they say in the rap songs.
‘At the end of the day, I’m white, and if I, or another white person, were to say that, it’s not on, but if two mixed-race kids of the same ethnic group choose to say it, it’s not racism.
‘It was after school, as he was leaving – class had finished, he didn’t say it in a lesson.’
Mrs Sexton, 41, a barber, claims Leo was temporarily suspended, and that she was summoned into school to discuss whether the suspension would be made permanent.
Mrs Sexton, 41, a barber, claims Leo was temporarily suspended, and that she was summoned into school to discuss whether the suspension would be made permanent
Although he was not permanently excluded, she said threatening Leo with this measure was inappropriate and claimed teachers ‘weren’t listening’ when she explained why.
She said: ‘My son has suffered from racism from students at that same school.
‘He’s experienced racism and prejudice throughout his whole life, and he’s just 11 years old, he wouldn’t be racist to anyone else.
‘It’s upset Leo, it’s driven down his confidence a bit – he says to me, ‘mam, how can I be racist when we’re the same colour’?’
Mrs Sexton does not want to send Leo back to the school and is hoping to move him elsewhere because she no longer trusts his teachers to deal with racial issues appropriately.
Studio West said the school could not comment on the cases of individual students but ‘standard procedures’ were in place and the school would ‘proceed as guided’.
Studio West (pic) said the school could not comment on the cases of individual students but ‘standard procedures’ were in place and the school would ‘proceed as guided’