Female teacher forced to apologise for saying ‘Good afternoon, girls’ 

A teacher claims she was left ‘humiliated’ after being told to apologize to 11-year-olds at a private girls’ school – for calling them girls.

The bosses of the £20,000-a-year school told the woman to give the mea culpa after her class complained that she had said ‘good afternoon, girls’ at the start of a lesson, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

After hearing from the students that “not everyone here identifies as female,” she came to class the next day to find that they had emphatically written their name and pronouns on the board, including someone using them/she.

They also held a lunchtime protest after she refused to acknowledge their demands.

Last night, the philosophy and religious education teacher spoke out about her belief that she had been ‘managed’ by senior staff at the prestigious institution, which is part of the independent Girls’ Day School Trust, but only after being forced to apologize publicly.

The tutor believes that as a result of her refusal to capitulate to her students’ gender demands, she was ‘led’ out of the prestigious school (file image)

The woman, who testified last week to an ongoing review of care for gender dysphoria in children and adolescents, led by pediatrician Dr Hilary Cass, said the problems began in May 2021 after some Year 7 pupils complained when they left the classroom greeted with ‘good afternoon, girls.’

After being told that not everyone identified as female, a student stood up and challenged her to “acknowledge” their pronouns.

But the teacher, who has requested anonymity to protect the students, replied that if their pronouns differed from their biological sex, she should involve the parents.

The teacher then said she sought advice from the head of the year on what to do if a student experienced gender dysphoria – a term used to describe a mismatch between biological sex and gender.

But her superior would have told her that she had no knowledge of the terminology, nor did she know whether parents had been communicated about the matter.

The students then staged a lunchtime protest against the teacher – and she said senior staff seemed to be siding with them.

“I was told they made banners with slogans like ‘Trans lives matter,'” she said.

“Before the end of the week I was in some kind of disciplinary process and the head of the year told me to apologize to the girls.”

The teacher then described how she was accompanied by the head of the year, who addressed the students while she stood aside.

She said, “She spoke to the kids on my behalf and said no one here would want to hurt you and we all really love you.

She then phrased the apology in terms of, “I’m sorry you’re upset and we didn’t mean to offend.” I’m sorry you felt bad.’ But it was all quite humiliating and embarrassing.’

The teacher said the trouble began less than a week after sixth grade “diversity and inclusion” prefects held a meeting on gender and pronouns.

During the session, the 17 and 18 year olds showed a video discussing gender identities and the gender assigned at birth.

The tutor believes that as a result of her refusal to capitulate to her students’ gender demands, she was “carried out.”

She said the principal rejected her application to stay at the school after her one-term contract expired.

The Girls’ Day School Trust, a group of 25 schools and academies, drew attention in January 2022 after it controversially updated its gender identity policy to ban applications from students who are legally male but identify as trans or non-binary.

It defended the move, saying it was necessary to protect same-sex status in its schools.

Last night, a spokesperson for the trust declined to comment.