A CHEMISTRY teacher who doubles as a rap artist today helped to deliver an important message of respect and tolerance to a North-East school.

The award-winning Amer Sheikh gave a rip-roaring performance as Inter Faith Week and Anti-Bullying Week were creatively brought together at Polam Hall School in Darlington.

Amer’s performance was the climax of a week in which pupils listened to speakers representing a variety of faiths, including Jewish, Muslim, Church of England, Baptists, Methodists, Baha’i, and The Quakers.

During the inspirational session, Amer – a former winner in the national Teaching Awards – told the pupils: “This school is great because of you guys and what you represent, baby.

“We can all do amazing things for this community. We need to respect each other and aim high in everything we do. Don’t see a wall as an obstacle – let’s make a difference by getting over those obstacles together.”

Several pupils helped with staging the performance, including Alfie Leach who joined Amer as a rapper in dark sun-glasses.

Amer is working at the school up to Christmas as a chemistry teacher and asked principal Kate Reid if he could perform as part of the Inter Faith and Anti-Bullying Weeks.

Mrs Reid said: “This is a school which believes in looking after everyone no matter what their background, so we wanted to invite in as many faiths as possible to deliver a message about respect and tolerance in ways that really engaged the pupils.

“Amer’s performance was a creative, powerful way of bringing Inter Faith Week and Anti-Bullying Week to a climax, and the pupils clearly enjoyed it.”