A headteacher has apologised over a school newsletter with a student allegedly doing an “Isis salute” on its frontpage.

John Pout, head of Rainhill High School , said it had been included by mistake in its latest newsletter to parents.

The image shows a male student holding his index finger up in the air, with an Iranian flag around his waist at a recent international-themed sports day.

A source at the school told the ECHO: “There has been some disquiet from parents over the newsletter that was sent out on Friday.

“As you can see, one of the pictures is of a pupil doing the ‘ ISIS finger’, draped in an Iranian flag. This is very inappropriate.”

(Image: Rainhill High School)

Headteacher John Pout said he had been made aware of the image this morning, and said it would be removed swiftly from the school website.

He said: “I’m sorry - it was issued in error.

“It was a genuine error by a junior member of staff.”

Asked if the pupil would be questioned or disciplined over the image, he replied; “We will be dealing with it internally.”

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The gesture could be interpreted in various ways, but it has been spotted numerous times in propaganda images of so called Islamic State fighters.

A recent article in Foreign Affairs magazine said: “For followers of ISIS, a single raised index finger has become a sign of their cause, and it is increasingly common in photographs of militants.

“Some have even gone so far as to call the symbol ‘the jihadi equivalent of a gang sign’.”