British school board expels students who tied up and whipped Black boy during ‘mock slave auction’

The incident took place on the school grounds during a lunch break.

According to reports, a school board of governors in the city of Bath have refused to expel three teenage students who reportedly tied up, whipped, and hurled racial slurs at a group of Black boys.

Jasmine 'Jazzi' Johnson

Mar 15, 2018

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Police officers are investigating a disturbing incident that occurred in England this past January.

According to reports, a school board of governors in the city of Bath initially refused to expel three teenage students who reportedly tied up, whipped, and hurled racial slurs at a group of Black boys.

In this “mock slave auction,” which Bath Chronicle is reporting took place on the school grounds during a lunch break, seven white teenagers, aged 15 and 16, chained a fellow Black student to a lamppost. They then took turns whipping him with sticks, calling him the N-word and pretending to prepare him for an auction.

One parent even said that the incident was recorded and circulated via a student’s Snapchat.

The victim’s identity and the school name has not be reported in order to protect the victim and his family’s privacy.

School allegations

The school alleges to have taken action “in line with statutory procedures,” but the Chronicle uncovered that the white students were only temporarily suspended and had returned back to school in no time, right along with the victim.

The principal of the school, known as the headteacher, reportedly expelled three of the main perpetrators, but it was the school board governors who overturned that decision, which allowed the three boys to return to school. After further review, the governors then approved a two-week suspension for all seven of the teenage boys for their actions.

While the incident took place in January, the school did not inform parents about the incident until Tuesday, when they learned the Bath Chronicle was going to publish a story.

Still, in the age of digital sharing, many parents had heard about the incident through word-of-mouth.

“The boy it happened to is just the sweetest little thing ever. He’s so sweet and kind and gentle. It just makes it even worse,” said one parent, a mother to mix-raced children. “I want that child to know he’s got people around him, supporting him, who will not tolerate that kind of behavior.”

“It just sends the wrong message out to the children,” said her partner.

“As a parent, my moral compass at the moment is screaming,” another parent said to the BBC. “Someone has to be held accountable for it. Someone has to say sorry.”

“I know it was a game they all played, the white boys as well, but the mock auction saw this boy being really humiliated and he was apparently panicking,” she continued.

All parents’ names and identities were withheld to protect the privacy of the victims. All seven schoolboys accused of the racist act have “voluntarily attended” a police inquiry for further review of the incident.