Now headmistress stops calling pupils ‘girls’
THE headmistress of one of Britain’s most prestigious singlesex schools has stopped calling her pupils “girls” in case she offends transgender pupils.
Sally-Anne Haung says she now refers to students at James Allen’s Girls’ School as “they” rather than “she”.
Ms Haung said she wanted to avoid embarrassing or upsetting those who might be considering a sex change.
She said: “I try not to say ‘girls’ but when you have been teaching for 20 years it is very hard not to say ‘girls’.”
The Oxford-educated head added on Twitter: “Was talking about trans-pupils specifically. Our G in JAGS always stands for girls! But glad to raise profile of the issue.”
Her stance at the school, in Dulwich, south-east London, is the latest in a debate on the treatment of transgender children.
More than 150 schools across the country have adopted “gender neutral” uniforms to be more “inclusive” and The Good Schools Guide recently began rating them on how “transgender-friendly” they are.
Bernadette John, director of the guide’s education consulting service, said last week: “Families are coming to us when they feel they are left with no option but to pull their transgender child out of a school.
“Sometimes the child is being bullied and the school is not dealing with it appropriately.
“We also hear that schools are causing transgender children undue stress and anxiety by refusing to allow them to use the name or pronoun they prefer, or to wear the uniform and use facilities for the gender they identify with.”
James Allen’s – established by a 18th century educationalist – allows students to wear trousers, cut their hair short and be called boys’ names if they prefer.