Christian Joshua Sutcliffe, a former mathematics teacher who taught at The Cherwell School in Oxford, has lost his appeal to have a teaching ban removed against him after he “misgendered” a trans-identifying student. Sutcliffe’s trouble began in 2017 after he refused to refer to a female student who identified as a boy by male pronouns. The UK’s Teaching Regulation Agency determined he had breached his safeguarding duties by refusing to use the trans student’s preferred pronouns and calling homosexuality sinful, determining to ban him from teaching. During Sutcliffe’s appeal, Mr. Justice Pepperall ruled that a teacher must “respect and celebrate the pupils’ personal autonomy,” despite the teacher’s religious convictions. He concluded that, “just because misgendering a transgender pupil might not be unlawful does not mean that it is appropriate conduct for a teacher.”

This ruling goes against 2023 guidance drafted by the Conservative government that stated teachers should not be compelled to go against their consciences by referring to a student as something other than their biological sex. Pepperall, however, concluded, “The draft guidance, which of course postdated these events and the panel’s decision, envisaged that schools would rarely agree to change a pupil’s pronouns but did not purport to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. 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.”

After the ruling, Sutcliffe stated he stands by his convictions. “I still stand by my Christian convictions that it is harmful and detrimental to affirm gender confused children,” he said in a statement. “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.” He called himself a “marked man” and warned that the ruling put other Christians in danger. “With this ruling every teacher is at risk if they share their beliefs and views in the classroom. 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. I refuse to apologise for that. I do not believe it is any child’s best interests to affirm them in something that is untrue.” Sutcliffe referenced the recently released Cass Review as vindicating him. The review, conducted by Dr. Hilary Cass at the request of NHS England, has sparked a lot of interests from its conclusions. One particular finding of the review questioned the efficacy of medical treatments such as puberty blockers on students questioning their gender identity. It found insufficient evidence to support the use of such treatments on individuals under the age of 18. The UK’s High Court recently upheld a ban on puberty blockers for individuals under the age of 18, with many critics of the ruling blaming the Cass Review as mininformation. Sutcliff said he intends to continue to fight. “The TRA wanted me to capitulate and say that I was wrong. I have been severely punished for refusing to do so. Despite this set back, I will continue to fight for justice and to get my career back.”