CHILDREN at a Barcelona province school may face disciplinary action, including being suspended for several days, for racist insults on a train.
The Viaró school in Sant Cugat del Vallès, which teaches around 1,200 pupils, has telephoned the victim to apologise for the three 12-year-olds' behaviour.
Tehja Genard, 20, who is from an Indian family, wrote to the regional newspaper El Periódico de Catalunya describing the ordeal she underwent on the inter-urban train line at the hands of three young boys 'dressed in a Viaró school uniform'.
She suffered name-calling and abusive language because of her origin and foreign appearance.
Her missive was published on the letters page of the newspaper, and the school immediately took steps to track her down so they could call her and apologise on behalf of their students.
They offered to let her visit their premises in person if she wished.
The school says this is the first time, to its knowledge, that such an incident has taken place involving its pupils, and is currently discussing what action to take against them.
It is likely the three children will be suspended for several days and other 'disciplinary measures of a social nature' will be applied.
The school wants to drive the message home to the guilty pupils that their behaviour was unacceptable.
According to the staff committee, the pupils' parents have given their 'total cooperation' to the school.
