‘Divided Oldham’? Inside the school that defies Farage’s narrative

A merged academy in the town derided for being split along racial lines has won the annual Inclusive Schools award

Eighteen years ago two teenagers had an argument over a game of cricket in Oldham, with the dispute spilling into the worst violence the mill town has experienced in its modern history. Three nights of ethnically motivated riots followed, as hooligans from both sides burned barricades and fought police with petrol bombs.

Those were dark days in Oldham. Since then politicians have periodically used the town as an example of a divided Britain – most recently Nigel Farage, who told an audience in Pennsylvania that Oldham had entire streets split along racial lines.

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from The Guardian http://bit.ly/2LYKx4G