Museum to review school visit 'security incident'

A London museum is reviewing an alleged "security incident" during a visit by school children from Bristol.

The incident took place while a Year 10 group from City Academy were on a trip to the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum on 11 June.

More than 300 people have signed a petition to boycott the museum over allegations of "racial profiling", with claims pupils were followed and then searched by museum staff.

A spokesperson for the museum said they are in "close dialogue" with the school and take feedback of this nature seriously.

The petition, first reported by Bristol Live, said: "We are disappointed to hear that V&A have now offered three different explanations of events and excuses as to why this happened.

"While they continue to shift blame and compound the negative stereotyping of children, we can have no confidence that other children would not experience similar traumatising experiences at the V&A."

The petition demands the V&A give a full written apology to staff, students and families affected and that they undergo changes to policy.

This includes a commitment to adopting an anti-racist framework and a commitment to staff training as part of that.

Those who signed petition have committed to boycotting the museum unless these demands are met.

In a statement, a City Academy spokesperson said: "A Year 10 group from City Academy attended the Victoria & Albert Museum in London on June 11 as part of their art studies.

"The V&A was the first of several scheduled stops, before the group also visited Hyde Park and the Serpentine Gallery.

"Since the visit, leaders from City Academy have been in ongoing dialogue with V&A representatives to resolve school concerns about the way our group was treated during the trip.

"City Academy is proud of the diverse range of trips and enrichment opportunities on offer to students within our GCSE curriculum."

A spokesperson from the V&A said: "We are in close and constructive dialogue with Bristol City Academy about a potential security incident that occurred during their school visit.

"We work hard to ensure the V&A is a welcoming and inclusive place for everyone so do take feedback of this nature seriously.

"We are now reviewing what happened and the opportunity for any improvements to our procedures as a result."

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