Farage football shirt offered as essay prize in Medway school
Plus Medway MP gets promoted and hears from the worst people, news in brief, and more
A Medway school is offering a Nigel Farage football shirt as a prize in an essay writing contest where students are to evaluate how Reform have ‘obliterated’ the two-party system. The winner will be presented the shirt by Kent’s Reform leader, with the school insisting that this is perfectly normal and they do this all the time for all parties, but students and parents say otherwise. We’ve got the full story below. Further down, we also look at the grim social media response for a Medway MP announcing a promotion, news in brief, and more.
Farage football shirt offered as essay prize in Medway school
A Medway grammar school faces questions about political impartiality after launching an essay competition where the prize is a Nigel Farage football shirt, to be handed over to the winning pupil by Kent County Council’s Reform leader.
Students in the GCSE Citizenship class at Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School, better known locally as Rochester Math, were told earlier this month that they could enter a 1,000-word essay competition on the title, ‘Evaluate the view that Reform UK have obliterated the two-party system.’ The prize was advertised as a Reform UK shirt with “Farage 10” on the back. The message from class teacher Dr Bidmead explained that the contest winner would be personally presented with the shirt by Reform’s Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran when she visits the school on 1 October.
The existence of the competition was first raised to us last week. Screenshots of a class message were shared with us by a parent concerned about using political merchandise as rewards in lessons. Rochester Math operates under the Leigh Academies Trust, one of the largest academy chains in the South East.
We sent a series of questions to the school about the contest, the awarding of the t-shirt, and whether such things had been offered around other political visits. In response, headteacher Mr Hodges defended the contest as part of a long-running programme of political engagement:
“The school has a very active and high-performing citizenship and politics department, and we take the view that it is very important for our students to be exposed to a plurality of voices from across the political spectrum. Only by hearing from a diverse range of views can healthy debate be fostered,” he said. He described the planned Reform visit and contest as one among many. The school invites all parties every year, he said, although not all are able to attend. He listed previous visits from Labour, the Greens and Conservatives.
He also said that essay competitions were an established part of the curriculum for citizenship and politics, used to coincide with organised visits to prompt thinking, research and writing. “One is in place for Naushabah’s visit,” he said, referring to the Gillingham and Rainham MP Naushabah Khan, due at the school later in September. He added that awarding political memorabilia to winners helped increase participation, and that previous prizes had included life-size cardboard cut-outs of Jeremy Corbyn and Rishi Sunak, copies of Vince Cable’s book and batches of Vote Labour leaflets.
Hodges said these visits enriched the study of politics and citizenship and demonstrated a commitment to impartiality, which the school could not claim if it excluded Reform. “The school and its staff take their obligations regarding impartiality extremely seriously. We do not endorse or support any individual party or viewpoint.”
That account, however, did not match what students said had actually happened. Pupils told Local Authority they could not recall similar contests linked to previous visits over the past year, nor political memorabilia being offered as prizes in the past. Students also showed us evidence that the Sunak cut-out had been auctioned off rather than awarded as a prize, and appeared to have been bought online rather than supplied by the Conservatives.
Khan’s office told us they had no knowledge of any such contest and had not donated a prize. Other politicians named by the school also denied involvement in competitions or donating memorabilia. Medway Council leader Vince Maple told us that, “I’ve spoken at lots of politics and citizenship classes but never offered or been asked for a prize.”
We sought clarification from the school, asking about specific examples and whether the Sunak cut-out had in fact been an essay prize. We also asked the school to provide details of the essay contests and prizes donated by political parties over the past year. On the same day, a message advertising a new essay contest was sent to students, this one tied to Khan’s visit. The essay title is, ‘Evaluate the view that Labour’s first year in government has been a success,’ with the prize a novelty mug reading, ‘Keir Starmer is my hero.’
This week, Mr Hodges sent a further response. This time, the school told us, “We don’t keep records of the various competitions or associated prizes, but can confirm we have never been offered a shirt by a political party. We wouldn’t expect political parties to necessarily be aware of any competitions linked to their visits. The prize for the Labour visit competition is a Vote Labour mug, sourced internally.” That statement somewhat contradicts earlier claims that memorabilia had been given as prizes with the school now unable to identify any others, and left unresolved why the Labour competition appeared only after questions were raised about the Reform shirt, despite the visit taking place over a week earlier.
Government guidance is clear that schools must avoid the promotion of partisan political views. Teachers are allowed to bring political issues into class but must ensure balance, and schools should not appear to endorse one side. Inviting politicians to speak to pupils is standard practice, and Rochester Math has hosted a long list from across the political spectrum. But setting an essay on the success of a single party, with the prize being branded merchandise, crosses into murkier territory, particularly when the prize is to be personally presented by that party’s county leader.
The Department for Education warns against “the promotion of materials which could be seen as promoting a particular partisan view.” That description could apply uncomfortably to a Reform football shirt with Nigel Farage’s name printed on the back. The stated aim of Rochester Math is to expose students to a diversity of political voices, which few would dispute is valuable, but the way this particular contest has been run has left the school struggling to explain inconsistencies in its account. If the essay competitions are genuinely an established feature of the curriculum, the school has not been able to provide clear evidence of past examples. Politicians cited as having taken part deny knowledge. Prizes beyond the Reform shirt turn out not to have been donated or connected to visits.
The optics of Kemkaran, fresh from leading Kent’s dominant Reform group at County Hall, handing out branded merchandise in a Medway classroom, will be challenging for the school to defend as impartial. The visit remains scheduled for 1 October. Unless the school changes tack, the Citizenship class may end up with a very practical case study of what political impartiality means in practice.
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X marks the spite
Gillingham and Rainham MP Naushabah Khan announced her promotion into government last week. Khan, who entered Parliament in 2024 after nearly a decade on Medway Council, has been appointed a Parliamentary Private Secretary in the Cabinet Office. It is a junior but important role, linking backbench MPs with senior ministers working on efficiency, policy coordination and intergovernmental issues. It is often seen as a first step on the ministerial ladder.
Instead of the appointment being the focus, the attention was on the reaction it drew. Khan posted the news on X, the cesspit formerly known as Twitter. Her post quickly attracted hundreds of replies. where the overwhelming majority were abusive.
Some were blunt: “Deport,” wrote one. “All of them need to go,” wrote another. Others questioned her nationality, asking, “Are you British?” or “Is there no one ENGLISH????” Several framed the appointment as a conspiracy, with comments like “Yet another Khan,” “Wonder how you got that job?” and “Is this the Pakistani government?”
Religion was a frequent theme. Users warned of Sharia law, claimed “bacon will be banned,” and labelled her an “Islamofascist.” Others mocked her name or wrote off the appointment with comments such as “Milk and two sugars please. Any bacon sandwiches?” At least one reply carried an implicit threat with the words “tick tock.”
Khan told us she was used to this by now: “I am not surprised by the volume of racist, Islamophobic and misogynistic abuse I received online following my announcement, as this is not the first time I have received this sort of vitriol. During the general election, I received similar messages, and unfortunately for many politicians, it has become the norm. My announcement on X received over 200 comments, the overwhelming majority of which were very abusive, with some using deeply disturbing sexual imagery. Many questioned my British identity or mocked my religion and heritage.”
Khan did however joke, “I will, however, thank the individual who made me aware that my family owned a corner shop. This is something they had kept from me since childhood!” But she said the bigger issue went beyond her. “Sadly, social media reflects wider society. As we see more people feel free to express such views, emboldened by the rise of the far right and the rhetoric of some in positions of power, who frankly should know better but are pushing their own agenda at the expense of our communities.”
What drew attention was less the position than the platform. X has seen moderation scaled back since its takeover by the world’s richest midlife crisis Elon Musk in 2022. Researchers and campaigners have reported sharp rises in hate speech on the site since then, with racist and misogynistic content often left untouched. The company has sacked thousands of staff, reduced the size of its moderation team and shifted much of the responsibility for filtering abuse onto users. At the same time, the wannabe Bond villain Musk has taken to addressing far-right rallies organised by thugs like Tommy Robinson to announce that “violence is coming.”
For politicians, particularly those from minority backgrounds, actions online and off have translated into a steady stream of vitriol that would once have been more likely to be taken down. Khan’s experience is not unusual. MPs across parties have reported waves of racist, sexist and threatening replies to even routine announcements. A straightforward post about a government appointment was enough to produce hundreds of comments questioning her identity, mocking her heritage, or telling her to leave the country.
What last week showed is that the culture of the platform now all but guarantees such a response. Where posts might once have been met with indifference, they are now greeted with slogans recycled from far-right talking points and amplified by accounts that appear dedicated to trolling politicians. That it came in response to a parliamentary aide role underlines how little the details matter. The abuse is now the expectation.
In brief
🏴 A Strood man has been charged under Section 4A of the Public Order Act following disorder at the far-right Unite the Kingdom rally in London last weekend. Aaron Wren of Kingswear Gardens has been released on bail but will return to Highbury Magistrates Court on 29 September.
🎓 The University of Kent and the University of Greenwich will merge into a multi-university group. Both organisations have a campus in Medway. Our sister title, the Kent Current, looked at what it might mean.
📍 Medway Council is to consider wasting money commissioning a business case for its local government reorganisation proposal that no one else in the county wants.
🚧 The next phase of Medway’s School Streets initiative launches on 29 September. Four schools will see traffic outside of them restricted at the start and end of the school day: Cliffe Woods Primary, Hilltop Primary in Frindsbury, Fairview Primary in Rainham, and St. Margaret’s Infant and Junior Schools in Rainham.
🏗️ Two big planning applications are set to be decided by Medway’s planning committee next week. 132 homes and commercial units are set to be approved at Acorn Wharf in Rochester, while officers also recommend approving a 33 home development off Berengrave Lane in Rainham.
🗄️ Plans for a 31-home development off Canterbury Lane just outside Rainham have been submitted to Medway Council. The plans include widening the lane and a new open space alongside the homes.
🚒 Fort Pitt Grammar School in Chatham closed for two days after a fire broke out in its canteen.
🔥 Meanwhile, Medway Council has ordered the demolition of the remarkably combustible former St John Fisher School nearby.
🏠 One of the UK’s thinnest homes, a 7ft wide terraced house in Chatham, has gone on the market for £75,000.
More Authority
For our weekend interview, we sat down with Lisa Riley, nurse and Executive Vice President of a health tech company, VitalHub U,K to talk about how she came to work for the NHS, her own experiences of the window of opportunity, the time she won a house, and the great medical app you haven’t heard of…
Over on the Kent Current, we welcomed writer and podcaster James O’Malley, who makes the case that the only way to resolve Kent’s housing crisis is to get building. At the same time, councils do everything they can to block development on their patch.
Footnotes
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I am sorry Naushabah has had to put up with such crap. Sadly this seems to be the norm these days. Especially on such a hell hole as that place that shall not be named.
When a certain person took over, I left. It was obvious the way it was going to go.
Never missed it, never gave it another thought until now.
TwiX has become an absolute cesspool, and I'm very glad I deleted my account a few months back. Elon Musk claims to be a "free speech absolutist" but in practice that means he's happy to allow a firehose of hate speech while his algorithm throttles any criticism, left-leaning ideas, or anti-Trump rhetoric.
The abuse Naushabah has endured is abhorrent. We appear to have lost the art of polite disagreement and respectful argument. Sadly, reporting it to X's "moderation team" is a waste of time, as Ed points out in the article. Even before Musk, I reported some vile homophobia and racism only to be told it didn't breach any of their rules.