However, I have come across some characters at school that I have suspected of being serious fanatics. Funnily enough, they weren’t pupils but teachers! These pedagogues were not the sort of bombastic, careless blusterers who trigger great classroom discussions but quiet, devout teachers who were obviously very religious, praying every day and wearing the appropriate garb. While I might have suspected them of harbouring dreams of violence, I had absolutely no evidence of it, beyond their belief that homosexuals should be executed. They certainly were very careful not to talk about Bin Laden or al-Qaida. I had a gay colleague who was so incensed when she questioned one of these teachers about their attitudes towards homosexuality that she did complain to the authorities. She was quickly silenced with the response that it was a religious matter – and no action was taken. Indeed, that fundamentalist teacher went on to pass his trainee year and now is teaching at a state school as a fully qualified teacher.

This has made me think that perhaps teachers need to be properly vetted before we turn our attention to the pupils. After all, one of the 7/7 bombers was a primary school assistant; it is possible, he could well have been rooted out if properly questioned about his attitude towards violence in a job interview. Perhaps he would not have blurted out that he wanted to be a suicide bomber, but his attitudes towards homosexuality could have been fairly easily discovered. Personally, I think that anyone who believes that gay people should be exterminated should not be allowed to teach our children. The government, though, seems to reluctant to deal with this thorny issue and instead wants to turn teachers into ineffectual spooks, which will have the effect of stifling all meaningful debate.