A Muslim student has lost a legal challenge against a school previously dubbed Britain’s strictest over its ban on “prayer rituals”.

The pupil, who cannot be named for legal reasons, took the action against Michaela Community School in Brent, north London, claiming the policy “uniquely” affects her faith, with prayer one of its five pillars.

The High Court heard in January how she alleged the school’s stance is “the kind of discrimination which makes religious minorities feel alienated from society”.

Defending the policy, lawyers for the school argued it is “justified” and “proportionate” after it faced death and bomb threats linked to religious observance.

During a two-day hearing, the school’s headteacher Katharine Birbalsingh – commonly referred to as Britain’s strictest – said on X it was defending an environment “where children of all races and religions can thrive”.

She welcomed the judgement as a “victory for all schools” and said they should not be forced to change because one pupil and her mother “don’t like something”, while education minister Gillian Keegan said headteachers are “best placed” to make decisions.

The school, which is rated as outstanding by regulator Ofsted, enforces a series of strict rules on students, including a ban on conversations in corridors and groups of more than four anywhere on site.

Around 700 pupils attend the school, half of whom are Muslim.

In a written judgement on Tuesday, Mr Justice Linden said: “She [the pupil] knew that the school is secular and her own evidence is that her mother wished her to go there because it was known to be strict.

“She herself says that, long before the prayer ritual policy was introduced, she and her friends believed that prayer was not permitted at school and she therefore made up for missed prayers when she got home.”

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Ms Birbalsingh, a former government social mobility tsar, introduced the policy in March 2023, after up to 30 students began praying in the school’s yard, using blazers to kneel on.

Lawyers for the school said students seen praying outside contributed to a “concerted campaign” on social media over the school’s approach to religion.

They added Muslim children were “observed to be applying peer pressure” to other Muslim pupils to “act in certain ways”.

The court also heard the school was targeted with a “bomb hoax”, death threats, abuse and “false” allegations of Islamophobia.

Reversing the school’s “emergency” ban would again expose it to “an unacceptable risk of threats”, lawyers said, adding it avoided “the logistical disruption and detriments to other school activities”.

A ‘modest’ request

But the court was also told the pupil is making a “modest” request for permission to pray for around five minutes at lunch time, on dates when faith rules required it – not during lessons.

The student also challenged allegedly unfair decisions to temporarily suspend her from school, which the judge upheld.

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The pupil said she doesn’t agree it would be “too hard” to accommodate pupils who “wished to pray in the lunchbreak”, adding the school is “very well run”.

“Even though I lost, I still feel that I did the right thing in seeking to challenge the ban,” she added. “I tried my best, and was true to myself and my religion.”

Her mother said the case was “rooted in the understanding that prayer isn’t just a desirable act for us – it’s an essential element that shapes our lives as Muslims”.

Prince William will return to royal duties on Thursday, his first public engagements since the Princess of Wales’s cancer announcement.

The prince will visit Surrey and west London to highlight “the community and environmental impact organisations in the area are having through their work”.

The 41-year-old heir to the throne will attend a food redistribution charity as well as a youth centre.

They will be Prince William’s first public engagements since the Princess of Wales revealed she is undergoing preventative chemotherapy after doctors found cancer during planned abdominal surgery.

He will visit food redistribution charity Surplus to Supper in Sunbury-on-Thames, where he will help volunteers who sort and redistribute food at the charity’s hub at Sunbury Cricket Club to load deliveries into their vans.

William will also lend a hand in the kitchen by joining the team of chefs as they prepare meals, then visit a youth centre in west London which benefits from the organisation’s deliveries.

“Protecting the environment for future generations is one of the Prince of Wales’s key priorities,” Kensington Palace said.

Last week, William and his eldest son Prince George attended an Aston Villa football game together, in their first public outing since Kate’s cancer announcement.

William, Kate and their three children missed the Easter Sunday service at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, following the news, despite attending last year.

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In a video released after weeks of speculation about Kate’s health, she said the diagnosis came as a “huge shock” to both her and William and she was currently in the early stages of treatment.

“It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment,” she said.

“But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be okay.”

Since the announcement, William and Kate are said to be “enormously touched” and “extremely moved” by the public’s warmth and support.

The prime minister is facing another rebellion from his party over his plans to ban young people from ever smoking again.

Should the Tobacco and Vapes Bill eventually be passed into law, it would be an offence to sell tobacco products to anyone born after 1 January 2009.

This means children aged 15 or younger today will never legally be able to buy a cigarette.

The plan was one of Rishi Sunak‘s three key policies he announced at the Tory party conference last year.

However, some more laissez-faire Conservatives have criticised the ban, meaning the prime minister could have to rely on support from the other side of the Commons to get the bill over the line.

Opponents of the ban include Mr Sunak’s predecessor, Liz Truss, who has described the plans as “profoundly unconservative” and Boris Johnson, who branded the move “nuts”.

Tory MPs have been granted a free vote on the legislation, and several are expected to oppose it when it has its first full debate in the Commons on Tuesday.

However, Labour will back the proposals, making it likely the legislation will clear this first hurdle regardless of Conservative opposition.

The bill would not criminalise smoking itself, and those aged 18 or over can forever buy cigarettes without legal repercussions.

However, older people may have to carry ID if they want to buy cigarettes in the future.

The ban aims to stop people from smoking even before they start as the government pointed to its highly addictive nature with four in five smokers picking it up before the age of 20, remaining addicted for life.

Shops that flout the rules will face on-the-spot fines – money which the government says it will use for further crackdowns.

Earlier this year, New Zealand‘s new coalition government repealed what would have been a world-first ban on young people ever being able to buy cigarettes.

UK’s biggest preventable killer

Smoking is the UK’s biggest preventable killer and is responsible for about 80,000 deaths yearly, causing cancer, lung and heart diseases and chronic bronchitis among other health issues.

The Department of Health and Social Care said in England alone, almost every minute someone with a smoking-related condition is admitted to hospital.

It also costs the NHS and economy an estimated £17bn a year – exceeding the £10bn annual revenue brought in from tobacco taxes.

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Victoria Atkins, health and social care secretary, said the bill would “save thousands of lives”, help the NHS and improve the UK’s productivity.

Ms Atkins said: “The truth is that there is no safe level of tobacco consumption. It is uniquely harmful and that is why we are taking this important action today to protect the next generation.”

Numerous heads have reiterated their support for the bill including Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty, Deborah Arnott, head of charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), and the chief of the British Heart Foundation, Dr Charmaine Griffiths.

Ms Arnott said: “New research published by ASH shows that the majority of tobacco retailers and the public, including smokers, support the legislation and the smoke-free generation ambition it is designed to deliver.

“This historic legislation will consign smoking to the ‘ash heap of history’.”