‘#IloveJFSbecause’ Twitter campaign launched after students run riot
Jack Mendel is the former Online Editor at the Jewish News.
JFS students have launched an’#ILoveJFSBecause,‘ hashtag on Twitter – just days after fellow classmates ran riot during end-of-year celebrations, forcing staff to eject hundreds of GCSE students from the school. By Jack Mendel
Year 11 students were removed from the campus on Thursday after an end-of-year ‘muck-up-day’ turned ugly with school property damaged, and obscene outbursts aimed at the headmaster and other staff recorded on video.
A shocking 12-minute YouTube post, which was removed before re-emerging on another social media site, shows groups of year 11 JFS pupils outside the school gates after they were removed by staff.
One pupil is seen on camera telling headmaster Jonathan Miller: “**** you!” Another informs a teacher he can “s*** my b****!” while pointing to his groin area. A security fence is seen being broken open and a public road sign is vandalised.
You can watch the full video here.
The angry headteacher wrote to parents this week, saying: “The loutish, anti-social and dangerous behaviour exhibited by these students, who then had the temerity to share their actions on social media, is a disgrace. Their behaviour is an embarrassment to the school, the wider community, their parents and themselves. Those involved will be facing consequences.”
Some students, upset that their school’s name has been tainted, have responded with the hashtag #ILoveJFSBecause, followed by a reason why they love the largest Jewish secondary school in Europe.
The student who initiated the online campaign told Jewish News: “I began the hashtag to identify the love and passion for which the majority of JFS students have for their school. The respect for JFS among myself and my peers can not go unnoticed due to the actions of a few.
“I love JFS and everything it has done for me and my friends and I couldn’t watch a single incident ruin the reputation of a remarkable institution.”
She goes on to outline that the ‘muck up day’ detracted from other events at the school that week, including a mock election a Veterans Day commemoration, and weekly societal events.
She added: “This sort of stuff which students run themselves or are run by our passionate teaching staff cannot go unnoticed.”
As a result, the campaign was launched to address the positive elements.
The campaign’s founder tweets ‘GET IT TRENDING #ILoveJFSBecause’..followed by a tweet saying “It is an enriching, welcoming and unique environment, which makes a huge school a close knit familt’
Other students praised the school’s special educational needs (SEN) department, the teachers enthusiasm and commitment, and the way the school celebrates festivals.
One teacher tweeted: “#IloveJFSBecause in the nearly ten years I’ve been there, I have met the most fantastic students and the most caring and encouraging staff!”
Others, however, used the hashtag as an opportunity to condemn the school as a ‘maximum security prison’, call for the resignation of the headteacher and even compare its security to ‘SS guards’.
One Twitter user wrote: “#ofsted thinks its time Miller steps down he cant even control yr 11 #dwg‘. Another posted: ‘#ILoveJFSBecause they broke all my self confidence & tried to remove my individuality’.
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