GDST schools announce trans policy

[AgathaMystery]

Hopefully this share token will work. If not I will screen shot.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/01/01/group-girls-schools-says-will-not-accept-transgender-pupils/

The comments on the petition are along the lines of trans girls are girls. Which of course is even more ridiculous than trans women are women because there definitely won’t be any Gender Recognition Certificates, surgery or hormone treatment (one would hope). These trans girls are boys. What is the world coming to. And they may be boys who may be struggling with their sexuality. How on earth can anyone think it a good idea to then put them in a girls school. It’s so regressive. If reinforces old fashioned gender stereotypes that boys can only behave and feel one way and also is reinforcing homophobia. If it is a young gay boy why convince him he is actually a girl?

BBC news story here
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-59969443.amp

I can't make sense of what Nadia Whittome is saying. She says schools have a single sex exemption but could still admit pupils of the opposite sex anyway ( in which case they're not single sex any more are they?)

The use and non-use of quotation marks here is curious:

The Girls' Day School Trust (GDST), which runs 25 schools in England and Wales, will only be admitting pupils based on their "legal sex" rather than their gender identity.

Legal sex doesn't need them. "Gender identity" does. It's not a legal term, no matter how many times people say it and try to add it to discussions.

There was also this on the detail about single sex schools:

twitter.com/RadFemLawyer/status/1477969181245071363

Paragraph 1 of Schedule 11 provides that section 85(1) (admissions), so far as relating to sex, does not apply in relation to a single–sex school. There is no general exception to the provisions of section 85(2).

Schedule 11, however, expressly moderates the provisions of section 85(2)(a) to (d) in relation to those single-sex schools which admit a comparatively small number of pupils of the opposite sex, whose admission is confined to particular courses or classes.

Paragraph 1(4) provides that, in the case of such a school, section 85(2)(a) to (d), so far as relating to sex, does not prohibit confining pupils of the same sex to particular courses or classes.

Wow that MP is VERY hard of thinking, isn't she?

She said: "But the Equality Act itself is clear on this.

"There's a provision in it that allows single-sex schools to maintain their single-sex exemption while also admitting pupils of the opposite sex in exceptional circumstances."

If both sexes are in attendance, they're by definition, NOT using the SINGLE SEX EXEMPTION!

DD has been at one of the GDST schools for a while now. I always loved listening to the deputy head and her thoughts, which alluded to this topic and their views without explicitly stating them. I am proud of the GDST for many reasons, this is just another reason to feel proud.

Sorry haven't read the whole thread, this possibly already stated, but girls from girls' schools often had to go to the local boys' school if they did what we now call STEM subjects, especially at A level. The teaching, labs etc just were not available in girls' schools so a girl would go for those specific lessons. This was way before any gender bollox, the girls remained pupils of their own school, nobody considered the boys' school had become mixed sex.

Had to search for the petition. My DC are in a GDST prep & honestly, it’s not cheap & if my pre-teen DC used such poor technique on signing a petition I’d be furious!!

Elía has totally missed the irony of her own comment.

Forgive me if already posted - couldnt see it on here but Watford Observer has a petition on this which is showing 84% in support of this so far out of 9858 votes

www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/19841276.girls-day-school-trust-will-not-accept-transgender-pupils/

and they are allowing comments which are very good from what I have read so far

poll not petition

The girls posting their petitions for the school to allow trans boys are young, emotional and idealistic. These aspects must be trumping all other considerations for them.

To think otherwise would make it tempting to say their parents should just send them to a mixed sex school as they don’t appreciate what they have; and tempting to see their lack of thought as not being a good advertisement for the education they have received at their GDST school.

Normally these schools have very good science departments. Maybe though the relevant facts have not been part of the curriculum. If teachers could be trusted it would be good if they were.

Correction: I meant petitions to allow trans girls to attend the schools. We know that GDST says trans boys at the school will be supported to stay at the school.

We can't post petitions (?) and this one isn't easy to find. However, could it be that anyone could say they attend one of these schools and has X opinion on it, and sign it?