Report set to reveal vast scale of antisemitism in English schools

A landmark report is set to detail the vast scale of antisemitism in English schools and colleges, Sky News can reveal.

The review, conducted by former schools inspector Sir David Bell, will on Wednesday set out 27 recommendations to create change, which the government is poised to accept in full.

It will call for teacher training and resources to tackle antisemitism in schools, strengthened guidance on political impartiality, and giving students the tools to recognise and confront online anti-Jewish hatred and conspiracy theories.

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Speaking exclusively to Sky News, Sir David said he was "very struck" by the evidence of rising antisemitism in schools, but also the extent to which it actually goes underreported.

He explained that in a survey they conducted, one in five students said they had witnessed antisemitism, and three in five Jewish students had experienced it, but less than half felt it would be addressed if it was reported.

Sir David said that his report contains both evidence of antisemitism in schools, but it is also about "helping schools and colleges themselves to think about what they can do to tackle antisemitism and educate that next generation to be more open and tolerant".

"I think what this review has demonstrated is that a general commitment to tackling racism or prejudice or hate has not properly identified antisemitism as a particular kind of hate. And certainly that's one of the themes of this report," he said.

"We do need to name antisemitism as a particular kind of prejudice and hate, because I think if you don't name it, you don't actually know what you're tackling or what you're going to be able to do to respond to it."

The former schools inspector also said there needs to be guidance on political impartiality in schools so that students can "debate topical and difficult issues without feeling that teachers are imposing their own views on students".

'The burden was left on me as a 12-year-old'

Jonathan Frisher, a 17-year-old Jewish student from Cheshire, told Sky News that he has been campaigning in recent years for more education in non-Jewish schools about contemporary antisemitism after being the victim of it himself.

He said: "I was the only Jewish student at my school, and I experienced lots of antisemitic bullying. There were lots of comments around gas chambers, people telling me that I belonged in a gas chamber. And I also saw a wider culture in school of swastikas and Nazi salutes becoming quite normalised.

"And the burden was often left on me as a 12-year-old Jewish student to explain to my peers why this antisemitism was so wrong. And I really believed then, and I believe now, that this has to come from the government, teachers have a role to play in tackling antisemitism. The responsibility is on them to tackle antisemitism."

Mr Frisher said it is a "universal experience" for Jewish students in his area, but that "change really is possible because so much antisemitism in young people comes from ignorance rather than pure hatred".

Sky News has been told that the Department for Education intends to accept the 27 recommendations made in the report, with progress on implementation expected to be assessed in a year's time.

The department declined to comment on the leaked recommendations when approached by Sky News.

(c) Sky News 2026: Report set to reveal vast scale of antisemitism in English schools