Former head teacher Jo Shuter says no sign of radicalization for former student - now Jihadi John.
Jihadi John's former Jewish teacher saw no signs of radicalization
Jo Shuter, the Jewish head teacher at the Quintin Kynaston academy attended by 'Jihadi John,' says in BBC Radio 4 interview if the teachers had spotted signs of radicalization they would have done something about it.
A week after the true identity of the Islamic State group member known as "Jihadi John" was exposed, a Jewish teacher who ran the school that the now terrorist attended says she saw no signs of radicalization.
Mohammed Emwazi, who up until last week was only known as "Jihadi John" attended Quintin Kynaston academy in north-west London during his youth. The head teacher of the academy, Jo Shuter, said she knew Emwazi as a "quiet, reasonably hardworking young person" in an interview with the BBC's Radio 4 program.
Shuter and Emwazi.
"I am not prepared to say when the radicalization took place. All I can say is absolutely hand on heart we had know knowledge of it. If we had, we would have done something about it," said Shuter.
Shuter, however, did mention that Emwazi experienced "adolescent issues" at the school – which staff had tried to help him overcome. "He had some issues with being bullied which we dealt with," said said.
"He wasn't a particularly sociable young man. He didn't have a huge group of friends.
"By the time he got into sixth-form he, to all intents and purposes, was a hardworking aspirational young man who went on to the university he wanted to go to," Shuter said.
Two other former students from the school are also thought to have gone to fight in Syria and Somalia.
Shuter stressed that Emwazi "wasn't a huge concern to us." The former head teacher said the school had an atmosphere of tolerance "where young people could talk to adults, there was always somebody that was available to talk to if they were concerned."
"I can't even begin to say the shock and the horror that I feel," said Shuter.
"Even now when I'm listening to the news and I hear his name I feel the skin on the back of my neck stand up because it is just so far from what I knew of him and it is so shocking and so horrendous the things that he has done," she added.
Shuter left her position as head teacher in june 2013 and was banned from teaching after an expense abuse scandal. Shuter will appeal the ban.
