15/05/2014

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:00:10. > :00:16.Good evening. Teachers and pupils have hit back at allegations that

:00:17. > :00:19.Muslim extremists are trying to take over their school in Birmingham.

:00:20. > :00:22.They claim the education and futures of young people are being damaged by

:00:23. > :00:26.the controversy. Our special correspondent Peter Wilson spent the

:00:27. > :00:29.day at Park View Academy and has this exclusive report.

:00:30. > :00:35.The gates and fences surrounding Park View can seem intimidating. But

:00:36. > :00:40.it's exactly the same as any modern school. They take security

:00:41. > :00:43.seriously. We're the first TV camera team to be allowed inside to see the

:00:44. > :00:47.school for ourselves. Good morning. Good morning.

:00:48. > :00:52.Park View school is in Alum Rock. One of the most deprived areas of

:00:53. > :00:55.Birmingham. At one time, the exam results were amongst the poorest in

:00:56. > :01:00.Britain. Now these children are getting top grades. But this academy

:01:01. > :01:05.school has been accused by some of becoming increasingly strict along

:01:06. > :01:11.Islamic principles. These year eight pupils appeared to be segregated.

:01:12. > :01:18.Girls seperated from the boys. Children sit wherever they want to

:01:19. > :01:21.sit. I think boys and girls in any school in the country will

:01:22. > :01:24.automatically sit with the other girls, automatically sit with other

:01:25. > :01:27.boys. I don't stop these girls or boys sitting anywhere. They just sit

:01:28. > :01:30.where they like. The white headscarves are the approved hijabs.

:01:31. > :01:34.But I was told they're not compulsory. It's your choice if you

:01:35. > :01:42.want to wear it or not. It's not like you have to be forced to wear

:01:43. > :01:45.it. No matter what you do or what you wear, you are treated equally.

:01:46. > :01:49.Miss Bibi, wearing the purple headscarf, is a science teacher.

:01:50. > :01:53.It's exam time. This revision class had boys and girls sat together. The

:01:54. > :01:57.school is being investigated by the City Council, Ofsted and the

:01:58. > :01:59.government. These teenagers claim the allegations of extremism could

:02:00. > :02:05.affected their job prospects in the future. I was very proud of the

:02:06. > :02:09.school. That we had done so well in such a harsh environment. This area

:02:10. > :02:13.being a very deprived area. And all of a sudden, it got this bad

:02:14. > :02:17.publiccity. And I would have a feeling that people would stereotype

:02:18. > :02:23.me in some kind of way. There is no extremists being taught here. I

:02:24. > :02:27.mean, there is RE lessons. All religions are taught equally. We do

:02:28. > :02:30.community cohesion. All religions coming together. People of different

:02:31. > :02:33.cultures come and live together. But for months, allegations, like

:02:34. > :02:38.thunder, have been rolling around this school. The best way of our

:02:39. > :02:41.pupils avoiding becoming extremists is to give them a proper and true

:02:42. > :02:44.appreciation of their faith. Why, then, have we heard these

:02:45. > :02:49.allegations about bullying? Even Christianity being denigrated in

:02:50. > :02:53.assemblies? I have no idea why people would choose to make those

:02:54. > :02:58.allegations. Clearly, some of them are disgruntled ex`members of staff.

:02:59. > :03:00.When you are taking a school from one which has very low expectations

:03:01. > :03:04.of pupils to incredibly high expectations of pupils, some people

:03:05. > :03:10.along the way are going to be uncomfortable with that. Park view

:03:11. > :03:19.School has become the symbol for the whole Trojan Horse saga. `` Park

:03:20. > :03:22.View. 25 Birmingham schools being investigated, with 21 of them

:03:23. > :03:25.currently waiting for Inspection reports from Ofsted. Children and

:03:26. > :03:29.staff today were ignoring all of that and trying to concentrate on

:03:30. > :03:33.passing their exams. Peter's here in the studio. What are

:03:34. > :03:39.your feelings tonight after spending a long time at the school today? It

:03:40. > :03:44.is a very impressive school. They wanted to be transparent and I felt

:03:45. > :03:50.that I was able to go where ever I wanted, ask questions, meet pupils

:03:51. > :03:54.and get a real feeling for what was going on there. And the school

:03:55. > :04:00.itself says, if it has caused any problems, it is because it has

:04:01. > :04:05.reflected parents' wishes, 98% of those pupils come from Muslim

:04:06. > :04:11.families. What is likely to happen next?

:04:12. > :04:16.We will get the Ofsted report into the school and others, getting an

:04:17. > :04:20.understanding what is behind some of these allegations and some real

:04:21. > :04:28.facts, but this is a huge political story and will only get bigger.

:04:29. > :04:31.Thank you. The fund started by teenage cancer

:04:32. > :04:41.patient Stephen Sutton has tonight talked ?3.7 million. `` has to know

:04:42. > :04:44.went over ?3.7 million. Donations have poured in since the 19`year`old

:04:45. > :04:48.from Staffordshire died yesterday morning.

:04:49. > :04:51.Across Burntwood, a flurry of yellow ribbons have appeared overnight to

:04:52. > :04:57.remember Stephen Sutton. But it's his old school that has become the

:04:58. > :05:00.focal point for tributes. Although Stephen insisted his life be

:05:01. > :05:02.measured by achievements, and not time, across an hour, Burntwood

:05:03. > :05:08.sheared their thoughts on there now famous son. `` shared. He's been

:05:09. > :05:12.absolutely awesome. We're so proud of him. I think, as a nation, we are

:05:13. > :05:16.proud of him as well. He just lived his life to the full and tried to

:05:17. > :05:20.raise as much money for Teenage Cancer Trust. It's just amazing. And

:05:21. > :05:24.I think his memory should live on. I live over near Worcester, but I've

:05:25. > :05:28.come over. As I was in the area, I couldn't have not driven those extra

:05:29. > :05:31.few miles to pay tribute to somebody that is touched millions, really.

:05:32. > :05:33.Amongst the sadness, there are signs that Stephen's spirit lives on.

:05:34. > :05:38.Stephen's keeping us going. Because we know that is what Stephen would

:05:39. > :05:41.have wanted us to do. There are plans for the troll tattoo that

:05:42. > :05:47.Stephen insisted on to become an unofficial symbol for fundraising in

:05:48. > :05:50.Burntwood. But today was about Remembering the local lad who gave

:05:51. > :05:56.so much. He's brought it back together. And hopefully, it will be

:05:57. > :05:59.for the good. Do you know what I mean? He will not be forgotten

:06:00. > :06:03.about. He will be carried on. For everybody here. Throughout our time,

:06:04. > :06:04.the message from Burntwood was the same. Stephen Sutton inspired many

:06:05. > :06:18.and made his hometown crowd. A 19`year`old who has left a truly

:06:19. > :06:21.remarkable legacy. That's all for tonight. We'll be back in Breakfast

:06:22. > :06:25.tomorrow morning from six. So it's goodnight from me and I'll leave you

:06:26. > :06:28.with the weather now from Rebecca Wood.

:06:29. > :06:33.Thank you. It has certainly been a pleasant day to day, temperatures

:06:34. > :06:38.making it up to the 20s widely. As we head through the next few days,

:06:39. > :06:44.those temperatures are going to continue to climb. Tomorrow promises

:06:45. > :06:48.to be pleasant as well. Fine and dry with brightness and temperatures

:06:49. > :06:54.really starting to climb. Overnight tonight, we do have some patchy

:06:55. > :06:59.cloud about, which will help keep temperatures up a little, and where

:07:00. > :07:03.we get pockets of clear skies, temperatures will fall. Like wind,

:07:04. > :07:08.so it could drop to chilly temperatures in the countryside, but

:07:09. > :07:14.these values are for towns and cities, so a mild night. Starting

:07:15. > :07:18.off tomorrow, chilly start, then it starts to brighten up, good spells

:07:19. > :07:26.sunshine through the day, loud here and there, but not at all with

:07:27. > :07:31.temperatures up into the 20s, possibly 21 and 22 with light wind,

:07:32. > :07:32.and the National forecast next, I will

:07:33. > :07:35.prospect for the weekend, which shows we keep it fine, dry and warm.

:07:36. > :07:40.And we can leave you with the national picture.

:07:41. > :07:46.More warm weather on the way, today almost felt like June across the

:07:47. > :07:47.country. Temperatures did hover around 22 degrees, the average for

:07:48. > :07:50.June.