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Head teacher at Jessie J's old school hits back at her gun and knife violence claims

Written by . Published: October 27 2013

The headmaster at singer Jessie J's former school in east London has addressed remarks the singer made about gun and knife violence there, insisting her experiences aren't accurate.


The Price Tag hitmaker recently told Time Out magazine that gun and knife crime and racial attacks were prevalent at her secondary school in Dagenham.


She told the publication, "There was a lot of gang crime... The things I witnessed at a young age were horrific."


But Andy Rehling, who has been headteacher of Mayfield School for the past 11 years, has fired back at her comments, stating he doesn't "recognize the picture she's painted of the school then or since, and neither do staff."


Rehling adds, "I really don't know where she's coming from... To say it is an exaggeration would be an understatement. It is just wrong."


Jessie J, real name Jessie Cornish, attended Mayfield School in the late 1990s before transferring to the Brit School in Croydon.

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