Four pupils suspended after Quran damaged at UK school

Four pupils have been suspended from a West Yorkshire secondary school after a copy of the Quran was damaged by students.

Wakefield’s Kettlethorpe High School caters to children aged 11-16 and offers a comprehensive admissions policy.

Wednesday’s incident happened when a copy of the Islamic text was brought in by a Year 10 pupil, the second oldest class of students.

Head teacher Tudor Griffiths said the book remained intact and there was “no malicious intent” from those involved.

He held a meeting with concerned community leaders on Friday.

Independent councillor for Wakefield East, Akef Akbar, called the meeting after being contacted by people calling for more information.

He said reports the Quran had been burnt or destroyed were untrue, and he had inspected the book himself during the meeting.

Mr Akbar said he had been told the book had been taken to school as a dare by a pupil who lost while playing a Call of Duty videogame with other students.

While at the school it sustained a slight tear to the cover and smears of dirt on some of the pages.