The annual Pan-Afrikan Sports & Culture Day (PASCD) takes place on July 12th at Battersea Millennium Arena, Battersea Park. The event has become one of the highlights of the Pan-Afrikan calendar. To the organisers, it is more than just a day of athletic high jinx and fullsome competitiveness. It strives towards what Baba Ayi Kweh Armah referred to in his novel The Healers as “invocations of wholeness.” Indeed, even the coloniser saw the unifying potential of such occasions (in this instance the All Africa Games), fearing they would be a precursor to Independence Movements. (1)
For the uninitiated, the day is a coming together of Imani-Day (Saturday) schools (or more appropriately foundation schools), home schoolers, independent education institutions and community organisations on the field of endeavour. As such, the organisational reach of the PASCD has inspired a range of community initiatives including the Pan-Afrikan People’s Parliament, the building acquisition programme, Kwanzaa and the Pan-Afrikan Unity Quiz.
PASCD comes at a time when the clamour for foundation schools is as high as its been for years, following a period less than a decade ago when they were closing at an “alarming rate.” Now, academics like Professors Gus John and Kehinde Andrews both citing the “hostile environment” that our children face in school driving the resurgence. (2) The most heinous example in recent times is the case Princess (“Child”) Q who was yanked out of an exam at school in December 2020 and strip-searched by police, while on her period and with no appropriate adult was present, although it didn’t come to light until early 2022. It’s back in the news due to the two officers that violated the 15 year-old recently being sacked for gross misconduct at a tribunal. (3)
What the Princess Q case also did was lift the lid on a veritable frenzy (one every fourteen hours) of strip search cases by the police, which disportionately targetted Afrikan children at a rate for four to one. (4) In spite of the this the tribunal amazingly found that neither age nor race was found to be a factor in the way Princess Q was treated. (5) This can be seen as part of the gaslighting trend of diminishing the presence and effect of racism from “Safeguarding reviews silent on Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage children” to eliminating racism as a factor in last year’s anti-immigrant riots. (6)
But this trajectory is far from new. In fact it can be traced back to “Educationally Sub-Normal” scandal of the 1960s and 1970s and for which those survivors are still fighting. (7) It was also during this period that the thrust for foundation schools really began, so the current revival merely demonstrates how little has changed in the intervening years. As Professor Kehinde Andrews of Birmingham City University says:
“Schools haven’t really changed much at all since the 1960s; we’ve just replaced ‘educationally subnormal’ schools with pupil referral units which are terrible if you look at exclusions and attainment.” (8)
If this is indeed the case foundation schools may be in danger of being rendered ‘amelioration stations’, patching our children up on Saturday only to send them back into the proverbial lion’s den and repeat the process in seven days time. Thus a key challenge must be to break this cycle.
(1) Patricia Louw (2012) Games, tradition and ‘Being Human’ in Ayi Kwei Armah’s The Healers. Inkanyiso, Jnl Hum & Soc Sci 2012, 4(2). https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/EJC132779
(2) Afrika Speaks with Alkebu-Lan on Galaxy Radio (02/09/19) Saturday Schools: An essential resource or outdated operation? https://alkebulan.org/2019/09/02/afrika-speaks-with-alkebu-lan-on-galaxy-radio-02-09-19-saturday-schools-an-essential-resource-or-outdated-operation/; Richard Sudan (11/03/25) Professor Gus John at 80: ‘We must call out systemic racism wherever we see it’. https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/uk-news/2025/03/11/gus-john/; Nadine White (02/10/21) First established in the 1960s in response to racism, such schools are now helping to fill growing gap between students in traditional settings. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/black-saturday-church-schools-b1863162.html
(3) Adina Campbell (26/06/25) Child Q unsure she will ‘feel normal again.’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce8zyjdj067o
(4) Children’s Commissioner (19/08/24) Press Notice: Child strip searched every 14 hours by police in England and Wales. https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/news-and-blogs/child-strip-searched-every-14-hours-by-police-in-england-and-wales/; Rajeev Syal (19/08/24) Black children in England and Wales four times more likely to be strip-searched, figures show. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/aug/19/black-children-in-england-and-wales-four-times-more-likely-to-be-strip-searched-figures-show
(5) Campbell. Op. cit.
(6) Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (11/03/25) Safeguarding reviews silent on Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage children. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/safeguarding-reviews-silent-on-black-asian-and-mixed-heritage-children; Josh Halliday (28/01/25) Hatred of police not racism motivated children in English riots, report finds. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jan/28/hatred-of-police-not-racism-motivated-children-in-english-riots-report-finds; James O’Brien (14/0425) Reacts to MPs’ verdict on the Southport riots. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ENIJok6w3o
(7) Afrika Speaks with Alkebu-Lan on Galaxy Radio (14/04/25) ESN Scandal: Time for a Public Inquiry? https://alkebulan.org/2025/04/13/aswag-532-esn-scandal-3/
(8) White. Op. cit.
we ask the question:
Are Foundation Schools making a comeback?
1) Can PASCD be seen as an “invocation of wholeness” in the community?
2) Why did Foundation Schools appear to decline about a decade ago? Will it happen again?
3) Is the school environment really “hostile” for our children?
4) Is it now time for full-time foundation schools? What’s stopped us in the past”?
Our Special Guests:
Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and an Afrikan-Centred Education Consultant. Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of almost 40 years standing and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An African-Centred Approach To Excellence.
Bro. Chukwueneka Quamina: was born on Liberation Road and initiated into manhood in the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement Rites of Passage programme. He is also the founder of Neeks Sports, a sports channel covering all sports stories and opinions, and more importantly, getting the reaction from the fans and public in general. Eneka is also sports director of the Pan-Afrikan Sports & Culture Day
Bro. Tumaini Joseph: Headteacher of ABSS and former pupil at the school and community activist. Extremely passionate about helping our young people navigate the education system despite all the hurdles in their way. Bro. Tumaini is also a Bio-Medical Science graduate.
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