Over 400 people have signed a petition asking for an apology from a London museum following a City Academy school trip.
On June 11, Year 10 art and photography students from the school in Redfield visited the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum in South Kensington as part of their GCSE studies.
Bristol24/7 understands that during the visit some City Academy students felt they were being racially profiled and followed around by V&A staff.
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After hearing about the trip from students and staff, Michaela Wilde, the National Education Union (NEU) district secretary for Bristol and a City Academy staff member, created a Change.org petition.
Speaking to Bristol24/7, Michaela Wilde said: “Members of staff on the trip believed their students were being racially profiled and that students were experiencing negative experiences that other school groups present were not.
“Staff become aware they were being followed around the gallery. Then everybody was asked to go to a basement room and were told they would need to be searched.
“They’ve (City Academy staff) have been told different reasons for the search and the school has been told a different reason as to what sort of justification there was for saying that they needed to be searched.
“But, for the members of staff on the trip, they were like, ‘No, we know what this is. This is how we feel about it, and we’re not going to subject our children to that’.
“So, that’s when they decided to call the trip off.”
The V&A is the world’s largest museum of decorative arts – photo: Dembee Tsogoo
The Change.org petition asks for the V&A to “give a full written apology to all staff, students and families affected” as well as to “undergo changes to policy including a commitment to adopting an anti-racist framework and a commitment to staff training as part of that”.
A spokesperson for the V&A disputes that anyone was followed and said no search took place.
The Change.org petition also calls for supporters to “boycott the V&A and apply pressure for the NEU to not partner with (the) V&A in the Arts and Minds campaign until the above demands are met”.
The NEU-led Arts and Minds campaign is a coalition of 20 national groups calling for art and creative subjects to be viewed by the government as a “crucial part of the curriculum” and, among others, for the government to ensure all children have “a right to study arts subjects”.
The petition’s creator, Michaela Wilde, added: “It would be good if there was an opportunity for City Academy and the V&A to work together again, and for those students to have a more positive experience – if that is what families and staff felt comfortable to do at some point in the future.”
A spokesperson from the V&A said: “We are in close and constructive dialogue with Bristol City Academy about a potential security incident that occurred during their school visit.
“We work hard to ensure the V&A is a welcoming and inclusive place for everyone so do take feedback of this nature seriously. We are now reviewing what happened and the opportunity for any improvements to our procedures as a result.”
A spokesperson for City Academy said: “A Year 10 group from City Academy attended the Victoria & Albert Museum in London on June 11 as part of their art studies.
“The V&A was the first of several scheduled stops, before the group also visited Hyde Park and the Serpentine Gallery.
“Since the visit, leaders from City Academy have been in ongoing dialogue with V&A representatives to resolve school concerns about the way our group was treated during the trip.
“City Academy is proud of the diverse range of trips and enrichment opportunities on offer to students within our GCSE curriculum.”
Main photo: Seun Matiluko
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