Outraged parents try to stop Nigel Farage speaking at £20,000 a year school

The school says it is “important” for pupils to hear from the politician
Ethan Croft8 February 2024

Londoner’s Diary

Nigel Farage has hit out at the parents trying to get his forthcoming talk at their top private school called off.

Farage, the former Brexit Party and Ukip leader, is due to speak at the fee-paying Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith later this month, but some parents are attempting to get the event cancelled.

The Londoner has seen the angry WhatsApp group in which parents are coordinating their action.

The talk was organised by the school’s John Stuart Mill Society, founded to celebrate the life and work of the liberal philosopher.

Farage told the Londoner: “Wealthy London parents who work in the corporate world clearly want their children to be blinkered.”

Latymer Upper School
Alamy Stock Photo

Despite pressure from parents, the school appears to be standing firm. “We recognise the concerns our community may have, but we feel it is important our students are exposed to and have an opportunity to challenge a range of views across the political spectrum,” a spokesperson told us.

Not everyone at Latymer is up in arms about the invitation. “Everyone is quite excited,” a sixth-form pupil told us. “It’s gonna get heated,” said another.

Latymer alumni include Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman and the journalist Allegra Stratton.

Last year the school announced it would be scrapping GSCEs in all subjects except for English and Maths and replacing them with its own exam papers.

In 2021, the £20,000 a year school was embroiled in the “Everyone’s Invited” scandal when anonymous online testimonials made allegations of sexual misconduct by pupils at a number of elite London schools.

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