A former English teacher at Dulwich College has spoken out about Nigel Farage's behaviour as a pupil, alleging racism and bullying. Chloë Deakin, now 74, taught at the south London school in the early 1980s when Farage was a student.
Deakin recalled that younger pupils described Farage as a bully, and colleagues corroborated accounts of harassment and far-right sympathies, including 'goose-stepping' during cadet force marches. Despite staff concerns, Farage was nominated as a prefect by headteacher David Emms.
In June 1981, Deakin wrote to Emms objecting to the nomination, citing Farage's 'publicly professed racist and neo-fascist views' and an incident where he was so offensive to a boy that he had to be removed from a lesson. The letter also mentioned Farage marching through a Sussex village shouting Hitler Youth songs.
Deakin's letter, previously reported by Channel 4 journalist Michael Crick, has now been made public as part of a series of Guardian reports on Farage's teenage behaviour. The Reform UK leader initially denied all allegations but later conceded that some 'banter' might be viewed differently today.
More than 30 school contemporaries have testified to witnessing or experiencing racist or antisemitic abuse from Farage between ages 13 and 18. Despite calls for an apology, including from 26 former classmates, Farage has not expressed contrition.
