A High Court judge in England on Thursday (July 25) upheld a ban on Christian Joshua Sutcliffe from teaching following his dismissal for refusing to use the preferred pronoun of a schoolgirl identifying as a boy.
The indefinite ban in response to Sutcliffe’s appeal means the teacher, fired from Cherwell School in Oxford after the incident in 2017, cannot return to his profession. Sutcliffe had said, “Well done, girls” to a group of students including a girl who identified as a boy.
Sutcliffe, 34, had launched legal action against the school and settled out of court but still received a minimum two-year ban from The Professional Conduct Panel Teaching Regulation Authority (TRA). The ban had been created in May 2013 for those “bringing the profession into disrepute.”
His legal counsel had argued the ban was an “unjustified interference” with Sutcliffe’s rights to freedom of speech and religion.
Justice Pepperall ruled that regardless of a teacher’s faith and beliefs, compelled speech must be used for transgender pupils, according to a press statement by advocacy group Christian Concern. The judge’s direction reportedly included the requirement to “respect and celebrate the pupils’ personal autonomy.”
“Just because misgendering a transgender pupil might not be unlawful does not mean that it is appropriate conduct for a teacher,” the judge said.
The ruling came despite the previous Conservative U.K. government publishing draft transgender guidelines for schools in 2023 that stressed that teachers must not be forced into violating their consciences by using preferred pronouns contrary to biological sex.
Pepperall, noting the guidelines, reportedly said that Sutcliffe’s conscience based on his Christian beliefs did not justify his referring to a girl identifying as a boy as a “she.”
“The draft guidance, which of course postdated these events and the panel’s decision, envisaged that schools would rarely agree to change a pupil’s pronouns but did not purport to suggest that such course would never be appropriate,” the judge reportedly said. “As the draft made plain, such decisions are complex and are made by schools and not individually by each member of staff according to their own assessment of the merits of the request.”
The judge also reportedly said the unnamed pupil had “credibly passed for a male and was only known by male pronouns at the school.” He accused Sutcliffe of failing to treat the student with “dignity and respect.”
After the ruling against his appeal, Sutcliffe issued a public statement saying he stood by his Christian convictions “that it is harmful and detrimental to affirm gender confused children.”
“This is the belief I am fighting for which is shared by not only Christians but many who do not believe in harmful transgender ideology,” said Sutcliffe. “I have been a marked man ever since I dared to express my Christian beliefs in a school and tell the media about how I was punished for doing so.”
He said no training and guidance was given to teachers on such issues in 2017. He pointed out that as a young teacher then, he was “building my career in the profession” at a time when schools took guidance about transgender issues from gay rights charity Stonewall, not the U.K. government or any experts.
“With this ruling, every teacher is at risk if they share their beliefs and views in the classroom,” Sutcliffe said. “I believe affirming children in a transgender identity in the classroom is psychologically damaging for them. I refused to go against my Christian faith and conscience and cause a child harm.”
Saying he refused to apologize for declining to go against his conscience, he asserted that it is not any child’s best interests to affirm them in something that is untrue.
“The Cass Review, the Policy Exchange report and the transgender guidance from the Conservative government vindicate me on this,” he said. “The TRA wanted me to capitulate and say that I was wrong. I have been severely punished for refusing to do so. Despite this setback, I will continue to fight for justice and to get my career back.”
British pediatrician Hilary Cass led the independent Cass Review of gender identity services for children and young people for the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS), with the final review released in April. NHS England commissioned the review to make recommendations on how to improve NHS gender identity services and ensure that children and young people questioning their gender identity or experiencing gender dysphoria receive a high standard of care that meets their needs and is safe, holistic and effective.
For the majority of young people, a medical pathway may not be the best way to manage their gender-related distress, the review concluded.
“For those young people for whom a medical pathway is clinically indicated, it is not enough to provide this without also addressing wider mental health and/or psychosocially challenging problems,” Cass concluded. “The controversy surrounding the use of medical treatments has taken focus away from what the individualized care and treatment is intended to achieve for individuals seeking support from NHS gender services.”
Clinicians are unable to determine with any certainty which children and young people will go on to have an enduring trans identity, her review noted.
“The rationale for early puberty suppression remains unclear, with weak evidence regarding the impact on gender dysphoria, mental or psychosocial health,” the review stated. “The effect on cognitive and psychosexual development remains unknown. The use of masculinizing/feminizing hormones in those under the age of 18 also presents many unknowns, despite their longstanding use in the adult transgender population.”
The review concluded that while a considerable amount of research has been published in this field, systematic evidence reviews demonstrated the poor quality of the published studies, meaning there is not a reliable evidence base upon which to make clinical decisions, or for children and their families to make informed choices.
“The strengths and weaknesses of the evidence base on the care of children and young people are often misrepresented and overstated, both in scientific publications and social debate,” Cass stated.
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre that supported the High Court appeal, said the description of Sutcliffe in Judge Pepperall’s ruling “reads like fiction.”
“The picture Mr. Justice Pepperall paints of Joshua and his beliefs is a far cry from the caring, kind and brilliant maths teacher we know Joshua to be,” Williams said. “We create a turbulent environment in schools when facts are turned on their head against the teacher in a context where children are identifying as the opposite sex. Teachers are treading on eggshells for fear of saying the wrong thing.”
The teaching profession is not a safe place for Christian teachers, she said.
“Expressing long-held Christian beliefs on marriage and gender can get you suspended, investigated and barred,” Williams said. “We are looking at the judgment carefully. We will continue to support Joshua for as long as it takes to secure justice.”
