The headteacher at an Oldham secondary school has resigned after a backlash over 'historic social media use'.
Rachael Hallam, of Oldham Academy North, is accused of tweeting racial and derogatory comments in a series of tweets that appeared to come from her account, which have since been circulated widely by upset pupils.
Mrs Hallam stepped down today following widespread criticism of the alleged tweets, which have since been deleted. In a comment, E-ACT academy trust, which owns Oldham Academy North, said they are 'aware' of allegations and are handling the allegations through their 'usual internal processes'.
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Pupils from the school had shared screenshots of apparent tweets made by Rachael Hallam which appear to have been largely posted in 2011 and 2012, before she was a head teacher or in the employment of E-ACT.
Since being posted nearly three weeks ago, a TikTok video claiming to have unearthed the head's tweets has been viewed over 543,000 times and attracted hundreds of comments from both users with connections to the school and without.
One user commented: "No words. I'm flabbergasted," while another said, "Our school is a joke."
After being approached about the allegations by the MEN, a spokesperson for E-ACT said: “We are aware of allegations relating to historical social media activity by a member of staff at one of our academies, prior to their employment with us.
"We take any allegation of discrimination seriously. We are reviewing the material that has come to our attention and will handle this through our usual internal processes.”
Today, the academy trust confirmed in a statement that Mrs Hallam had stepped down. They added: "Having reflected on recent events, Mrs Hallam has decided to leave the academy and E-ACT. We appreciate that the recent media coverage has been upsetting for all involved.
"The school is now ranked in the top 100 comprehensive schools in England, and the joint top comprehensive school in the North West.
“We have every confidence that the academy will come through this period and go from strength to strength, by building on these strong academic foundations and celebrating the rich diversity in our school community.”
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