Private school sued for refusing to let female-to-male transgender pupil wear boy's uniform

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www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-38827731

Pupil is 16, presumably Y11, but may have happened earlier. School is Hereford Cathedral School (CofE)

School uniform list seems to indicate skirts for girls, trousers for boys up to Y11, trouser suit or skirt for sixth form girls.

fluencycontent-schoolwebsite.netdna-ssl.com/FileCluster/HerefordCathedral/MainFolder/Senior/Documents/2016/Uniform-Yrs-7-Sixth-Form-including-games-kit.pdf

I think its an even bigger scandal that this school wants girls legs on display. The school should be sued on the basis of having a sexist uniform policy.

Really? I think that's par for the course in the independent sector tbh.

I mean you literally sign up to pay them £100,000 to have your children dressed according in their chosen uniform. It's not exactly going to come as a surprise.

Yes really, I think its shocking that young girls are being told their legs need to be on show in school. For what purpose exactly? Does having air on their legs mean they listen better? Look smarter? Learn quicker?

Very interesting. There is a transgender girl to boy in dd's school. since this academic year girls are now allowed to wear trousers day to day but must wear skirts on formal occasions. So this pupil had to wear a skirt at the Christmas Carol service.

There was a transgender girl to boy at my ds's school. All students can wear trousers but they were allowed to wear a boy's shirt rather than a blouse and as far as I know no-one batted an eyelid. Made me feel proud. But that's a state school without a religious affiliation.

they were allowed to wear a boy's shirt rather than a blouse

but the girls were not allowed presumably. I can't think of any valid reason why there should be a distinction between shirt and blouse and which sex should wear which.

Especially in a state school.

But parents choose to send their children to independent schools, nobody has to choose a particular private school. If the parents didn't like the uniform policy they simply need to look for another school surely?

Easy solution here for schools - don't have sexist uniforms. Let the girls wear trousers, let the boys wear skirts - if they do wish. Trans - what they like. PE kit can be unisex too.

And don't bother with ties.

if they SO wish.

Missy that doesnt mean its ok. An employer, of adults, would have a very hard time justifying why they demand women to wear a skirt only, yet in schools its just dandy?

Theres no reason for a school to demand girls have their legs on show, it doesnt enhance learning, doesnt look any smarter, it has no benefit at all except, oh yes, young girls legs are on display, which benefits...........???

YY purple. Gender-neutral uniform is totally the way forward - and so easy and obvious.

The parents may have chosen a particular school with particular rules, but that doesn't mean their child has no rights to be treated with respect and to have gender equality at school.

I think it would be hideous to force this child into a skirt, regardless of whether this is 'par for the course' for independent schools.

Do they insist Muslim girls wear skirts I wonder?

And I also agree that it shouldn't be about creating an exception for trans kids (hate the thought of little butch lesbians having to say they're trans to be allowed into trousers ). They need to start designing gender neutral choices into uniforms.

In this day and age they don't let girls (and trans) wear trousers and shirts?

Fucking hell!

I agree with the posters saying that uniform policy should be gender neutral, and completely unrelated to sex. It's quite frankly bizarre to make rules saying 'Children with a penis should wear x, children with a vagina should wear y.' It's equally weird to say 'Children who identify as x must wear a, children who identify as y must wear b.'

The only sensible option is either 'All children must wear x' or 'Children may choose to wear x or y.'

I think for Muslim girls who need to have legs covered, these types of school get the school skirt material taken to a seamstress and make the girl a floor length skirt in a similar style to the usual skirt, just longer. I know someone working in a private school who arranged this for a girl. The family paid the cost of the unaltered skirt and the school paid the rest. Seems alright but personally I don't approve of the policies that independent schools have re forcing girls into skirts and not allowing trousers. These schools should be dragged into the 21st century IMO.

All school uniforms should be as unisex as possible, IMO, allowing for neccesary differences in shape if course. This would nip this kind of nonsense in the bud. Obviously that means no skirts.

This school has regulation skirts to below the knee & regulation long grey socks.
Not a lot of leg on show tbh!

It really is about time schools were banned from having different uniform requirements dependant on sex or even gender.

I would t support just unisex uniforms. Why no skirts allowed? What's wrong with skirts?

Yes - allow anyone to wear either but I don't think you should ban skirts just because some pupils want to wear trousers! Allow both and let the children choose.

FWIW Dd wears a skirt every day for school but with thick tights - see no more of her legs than if she was wearing the skinny jeans she wears at the weekend, infact probably less so as the skirt is far less fitted than the jeans.

Dd's school doesn't actually have trousers as an option. Uniform is reviewed every couple of years. Last year an overwhelming majority chose skirts so that's what they've kept for now. The Muslim girls have looser leggings type things under their skirts. The Muslim friends of Dd voted for skirts not trousers.

You can include skirts in the uniform, just don't specify them as for girls, skirts and trousers are equally acceptable as uniform for all pupils. Then the pupils/parents choose without any fuss being needed.

Seems a better system OddBoots, than just banning skirts full stop.

Standard for an independent, I would have thought.

Our is skirts only for girls (dresses in summer) and shorts only for boys younger than 9. Trousers are the privilege of the Year 5-8 boys only

Surprised they couldn't make an exception though. We've never had a transgender child but we did have a little girl who had absolutely refused to wear any skirts or dresses ever from the age of about 2 and would only wear 'boy' things. She even had to be cast as a boy in the Christmas play because she wouldn't wear a dress even as a costume. She was allowed to wear the boys' uniform no problems. Which she chose to do for maybe a year or so then decided she didn't want to be different after all!