Sussex ‘school’ under scrutiny over children posing with guns

A ‘school’ in Sussex has come under harsh scrutiny after photographs of young children with guns and other weapons surfaced.

Hope Sussex, opened by Matthew Single and his wife Sadie, teaches young children subjects such as maths, English and science – alongside shooting and martial arts – has barred Ofsted from inspecting the premises, claiming it’s an ‘autonomous community’.

Newly released photos from the founder show worrying images of children posing with nunchucks and rifles.

The founder was also photographed with a shirt reading ‘I identify as a conspiracy theorist, my pronouns are told/you/so’.

In a statement to Metro, Single said: ‘My T-shirt was a gift from a good friend, and I couldn’t resist taking a picture and posting it online ages ago. I wasn’t expecting, however, for it to become so popular!’

Around 40 families attend the ‘school’ each day, where students as young as four are reportedly given lessons on how to shoot firearms.

Single has also shared on social media: ‘We must be prepared to step outside of the comfort zone of simply protesting and demonstrating with placards and megaphones – we have our army in the field, now we must press forward with greater, more specific action.’

Single told The Times that his comments were made in the context of ‘applying political pressure on the government’.

‘It is not my intention to build an ‘army’,’ he said.

‘It is, however, our intention to help build a generation of confident, adaptable … young adults that are able to stand up for themselves and their communities against a government seemingly intent on destroying everything beautiful and cherished in our country.’

In his statement to Metro, Single added: ‘We have studied, and are very aware of the totalitarian contents of the new “Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill”, and we are fully ready to fight it. We are autonomous, and we will absolutely remain as such. The school curriculum that is being peddled by the government is unfit for purpose, toxic and an abuse of our children, and that is set to get worse under this monstrous government.’

On social media, Hope Sussex describes itself as ‘A home-grown community based in love, truth, freedom & family life skills.’

One post showed children posing with nunchucks, with the caption: ‘Homemade nunchucks’ – along with the hashtag ‘stop Starmer’.

During a school trip to Budapest, students were seen posing with submachine guns. Another video posted on Instagram showed a young girl holding a gun and sitting around what appears to be military equipment.

The caption reads: ‘We must teach our kids real history, and why we must prepare to defend ourselves against the evil that seeks out subservience!’

Single told Metro: ‘I’ve been teaching archery and air-weapon shooting at Hope Sussex since we first opened five years ago. I learnt how to shoot in the cadets, in the military, as well as completing civilian archery and shooting training.

‘I focus heavily on safety and excellent range discipline, and although we only use air weapons, I teach the children to handle them as if they were live weapons at all times. I would like to add that I have a 100% safety record.’

He added: ‘At Hope Sussex, we put the physical safety and psychological well-being of children first at all times.

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