They had said in lessons that they “hated Jews and Christians”, had praised the Twin Towers perpetrators as heroes and martyrs and said they wanted to be “Islamic bombers” when they grew up.
He had reported the comments repeatedly to Ms Hankey and assistant head Margaret Coleman but he alleged they had swept his complaints under the carpet. He claimed that he became clinically depressed and unable to work because of the school’s lack of support for him. He was sacked in April last year.
Mr Kafouris’s legal representative, Andrew Yiannides, gave the tribunal a number of letters from current and former pupils in support of the teacher.
Betson Criddle, counsel for the school and Tower Hamlets Council, asked Mr Kafouris during cross examination whether he brought the claim for discrimination because he felt he was treated badly compared to the children.
Mr Kafouris replied: “It’s not just compared to the children, it’s compared to another teacher, compared to anyone, people of any age, not just nine-year-olds.”
The tribunal continues.
