A mother is suing an all-girls school in the United Kingdom after it allowed a transgender girl to attend.
Joanna Donoghue says she had “no choice” but to take legal action against Beverley High School after it allegedly admitted a trans girl “secretly” and repeatedly “shut down” her questions about the student, according to The Times.
Donoghue’s three daughters currently attend Beverley High School. She also attended the school herself 30 years ago, describing it as an “important part” of her life, and previously worked there as a teacher.
Legal action against local authority
According to The Times, Donoghue’s lawyers sent a pre-action letter earlier this month as part of a planned High Court claim for judicial review against the local authority responsible for the school.
The letter reportedly alleges that the council acted unlawfully by adopting a “secret” policy that allows transgender girls to attend Beverley High School, and potentially other schools.
It claims the alleged policy means parents “cannot make an informed decision about whether to send their children to the school”.
The letter also argues that the policy discriminates against female pupils by placing them at a disadvantage.
“Teenage girls have particularly acute needs for privacy and dignity. During the secondary school years, as they begin to menstruate and their bodies change, it is vital that girls can trust that they are in environments that safeguard their privacy and dignity,” the letter reportedly states.
Beverley High School’s chair of governors declined to comment on the matter.
A spokesperson for East Riding of Yorkshire Council said: “We have been made aware of a query around our admission arrangements and are working to understand the issues, and we will respond in due course.”
Mother says decision to sue was “horrible”
Donoghue told The Times that her decision to sue the school was “horrible”.
“The fact it is single sex is important to me,” she said. “We know that there’s evidence that girls do better academically in Stem subjects, for example, when they’re in an all-female environment.”
Donoghue said she first became aware that a trans girl attended the school after overhearing a conversation between her 15-year-old daughter and a friend.
“They were talking about who they were friends with at primary school and my daughter’s friend said: ‘Oh I was friends with’ – and then she said a female pupil’s name – ‘but I was friends with her when she was a boy’,” she said.
Donoghue said she then emailed the school seeking confirmation about the trans student, but became distressed when the school said it could not “discuss pupils… for GDPR reasons” and cited “obligations under the Equality Act”.
The case is expected to intensify debate in the UK over single-sex education, trans students’ rights, privacy, equality law and how schools respond to questions about individual pupils.
