- .Chobham Academy in Newham, London, closed for Eid-al-Adha festival
- .Religious leaders only announced festival would take place ten days ago
- .Mother 'got text at 11am Friday saying school would be closed on Monday'
- .School is partially closed for nursery, reception, Year 1 and Year 2 pupils
- .CAGE group tried to use school to host talk involving Islamist extremists
An 1,800-pupil academy gave parents just three days' notice it was closing to allow staff to celebrate a religious festival.
Chobham Academy in Newham, east London, is partially closed today due to a 'high number of staff requesting leave for religious observance' for the Muslim festival Eid-al-Adha.
But families were given just days to find alternative childcare arrangements - with one saying working parents were being 'penalised'.
Chobham Academy in Newham, east London, is closed for the Muslim festival Eid-al-Adha
Primary principal at the school Mark Elms, a former 'super head' at his old school with a staggering £276,000 salary, offered parents his 'sincere apologies'
Pupils aged 3-18 attend the independent mixed academy from primary through to sixth form, which has closed nursery, reception, Y1 and Y2 pupils.
Primary principal Mark Elms offered parents his 'sincere apologies' for the closure.
Mr Elms was a 'super head' at his old school where he was thought to be Britain's highest paid headteacher with a staggering £276,000 salary.
The school is in the borough of Newham, where Black Lives Matter activists last week stormed City Airport, bringing flights to a standstill as the held a protest over the UK's 'racist climate crisis'.
Pedro Martin's two sons, aged six and four, attend the academy and he told MailOnline he was forced to take time off work to look after them.
Mr Martin, who works as a Spanish teacher and tutor in London, said: 'My two children go to Chobham.
'I'm Spanish tutor freelance and I had to cancel my lessons today, giving my students three days notice - but we have just started one week ago, after the summer holidays.
'It's not only the money, it's my reputation. It is unacceptable short notice. Working parents are being penalised again.'
Pedro Martin's children attend the academy and he told MailOnline he was forced to take time off work to look after his sons, aged six and four
Some were angry that the 1,800-pupil academy gave parents just three days' notice it was closing (pictured, pupils sitting the entrance exam for the school)
Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the twelfth and final month in the Islamic calendar.
As the exact day is based on lunar sightings, the date can between countries and religious leaders only announced the date of this year's festival ten days ago.
The Eid Al Adha prayer marks the end of the annual pilgrimage or Hajj to the holy city of Mecca.
Muslim residents outside Lakemba mosque in Australia, participating in the Eid Al Adha prayer, which marks the end of the annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca
Thousands gathered at the Blue Mosque in Taguig city, east of Manila, in the Philippines, this morning
Another mother, who did not wish to be named, told The Sun the lack of notice given was 'outrageous', adding: 'I got a text out of the blue at about 11am on Friday saying the school would be closed on Monday but it didn't explain why.
'Then they sent the kids home with a letter from the head saying it was because a lot of teachers had suddenly asked for the day off.
'I wouldn't be able to do that in my job. It's very disruptive.'
Primary principal Mark Elms told parents: 'Please accept my sincere apologies for the short notice which could not be helped and for the disruption to the beginning of the new academic year.'
Meanwhile The Harris Federation, which runs the academy, said parents who were unhappy should contact them.
SCHOOL CONTROVERSY: ISLAMIST EXTREMISTS 'TRIED TO USE FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT TO COVER UP MEETING'
CAGE director Moazzam Begg said pressure was put on the initial place booked 'from the outside, so this is another evidence of ... Prevent being unduly forced upon organisations'
It was revealed by the Daily Mail in January this year that the advocacy group CAGE tried to use Cobham Academy to host an event involving extremist speakers.
Police alerted the school about the planned event two days before it was due to go ahead. Staff had no idea that its hall had been booked by CAGE or that it was to be used to showcase some of Britain’s most notorious Islamists.
One of the planned speakers was a cleric who has defended stoning and female genital mutilation. Another was the head of Hizb ut-Tahrir – the organisation that wants to create an Islamic Caliphate with Sharia Law.
The talk was due to be held on the evening of November 5 last year and the school is understood to have believed the event was connected to a local community football team.
CAGE denied misleading the school or an event booking company over the nature of the talks.
But a source close to the academy said the event would never have been approved had staff known CAGE was involved. The source told the Mail the event was stopped only after intervention by the police, who are understood to have been monitoring CAGE’s activities.
‘He was just a guy making football bookings and he’d booked the hall for an event,’ the source said. ‘He wasn’t a name that came up on Google.
‘No booking was made for CAGE. No mention was made of a political event of any kind. The school and the booking company found out it was CAGE two days before it was due to happen.
‘Someone in the local police contacted the school to say, were they aware of this thing that was being advertised on websites? They were shocked.’
The CAGE member who booked the event was thought to regularly play football at the school – which is set in the heart of the Olympic Village and regularly hires out its sports pitches and event spaces to the community.
The source added: ‘The main thing for the school is that it was cancelled. The school is trying to educate young people in London and particularly in a sensitive part of London. All the stuff they are educating them about would have been undermined.’
CAGE then moved the talk to a commercial event space in East London. There, men and women sat separately and clerics, including some with extreme views, spoke at length.
The Metropolitan Police said an officer had spoken with the venue prior to the cancellation.
A Government source said the Home Office had also been aware of the event.
The academy confirmed the talk was axed by booking contractor Schools Plus.
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