Pupils at a private school tried to force-feed a piece of pizza containing ham to a Jewish student. It happened at Clifton College, Bristol, the school confirmed, while the student was eating with his "close-knit group of friends".
The college said the victim felt it was not an anti-Semitic act but that it considered it to be "completely unacceptable". The incident last December fell "far short of the high standards we expect from our pupils", a school statement said.
Stephen Silverman, a trustee and director of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, said this would have been an "incredibly traumatic and abusive and offensive" act for an observant Jewish person who closely followed the dietary laws. But, he added, only the victim himself was in a position to judge if it was anti-Semitically motivated.
The school said a "thorough investigation" had taken place and "proportionate and appropriate sanctions" put in place.
