Did Dulwich College tolerate pupils' bigotry and racism...?

[exdulwicher]

https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/politics/we-must-separate-art-from-artist-in-singing-of-nazi-gas-chamber-songs-says-farage-20251125262249

Surprisingly, one of the more reliable sources of news. Better than the Farage Channel GB News anyway! 😉

[Penguin68]

I'm sorry, isn't that exactly what I've been saying, that he is remembered as saying racist things as a teenager? I meant, very obviously, that it wasn't a topic for argument. 

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

A couple of interesting - albeit anecdotal - letters to the Grauniad today about what I think is more useful question about private schools' conduct and response as institutions, and whether they have changed in the interim.

Excerpt:

the private schools which were built to train young Englishmen for empire-building were deeply racist even in the 1980s. Mine had a quota for the maximum number of Jewish pupils... I say this not to defend Farage, but to point out that he – and many others from a similar background – were schooled in an environment that condoned or even encouraged blatant racism, while also equipping the pupils with the swagger, charm and polish to make others feel inferior and admiring of them. To see him in isolation is to miss the nature of the sorts of institutions that educated him, and the damage they do. I’m sure the schools will say they have changed, and I hope they have, but while they continue to educate their pupils to believe they are better than others, there will be plenty more where Farage came from.

The Dulwich College "rape culture" allegations certainly seem to be consistent with an institutional culture of making its pupils feel better than others - albeit girls and women in those cases rather than Jews and Muslims.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/26/racism-claims-against-nigel-farage-are-no-surprise-to-us

Edited 14 hours ago by Dogkennelhillbilly
Forgot the link

[Sue]

I went to a girls' public day  school in the fifties and sixties.

The first school rule was "courtesy and consideration to others are expected at all times". 

There was quite a high number of Jewish girls, both in the junior and senior school.

I don't recall a single incident of anti-Semitism.

Is this something confined to boys' schools, or was my school unusual?

[Penguin68]

It may be true of 19th Century foundations - which I think is what Dulwich College was, but it certainly doesn't reflect all public schools, and certainly not in the mid to late 20th century. Certainly all schools go through problem times (and not just public schools) - but the generalities being quoted here are misplaced. Dulwich College does appear to have had its own, very specific, problems.