Bewildered teachers at Kings Manor community college in Shoreham, East Sussex, were under fire this week for the novel offence of “witch discrimination”.
The row was sparked by a display of pupils’ posters depicting old crones with bulbous noses and tall hats, bearing slogans such as “burn the witch”.
Theology graduate Pauline Charles, visiting the school for a night class, took exception and denounced the school to the Brighton Evening Argus, for witchism. By the time the school explained pupils were merely role-playing 17th-century attitudes to witches it was too late to prevent banner headlines. But White witch Marina Pepper, a Lib Dem candidate in the May elections, came to Kings Manor’s rescue, pronouncing its efforts to teach about past witchist discrimination as “beyond the call of duty”.