Joshua Sutcliffe, a 32-year-old math teacher from Oxford, has escalated his dispute with the Teaching Regulation Authority (TRA) to the High Court after being banned from teaching. The ban came about a year ago following an incident where he mistakenly referred to a student, who uses male pronouns, as part of “girls” during a classroom commendation. He apologized shortly after realizing the mistake.
Despite his apology, Sutcliffe was found to have damaged the reputation of the teaching profession, leading to his suspension after an official investigation and disciplinary hearing. In his defense, Sutcliffe’s lawyer, Michael Phillips, argued in the High Court that his client’s rights were infringed upon, asserting that Sutcliffe has the right “not to believe gender identity belief.”
The case has also stirred personal repercussions for Sutcliffe, who has expressed on social media platform X that overturning the TRA’s “perverse decision” is crucial for maintaining freedom in the U.K.
Supporting Sutcliffe is Christian Concern (CC), a campaigning organization, which pointed out that recent government-drafted transgender guidance for schools specifies that no teacher or student should be compelled to use preferred pronouns. CC also noted that the TRA was alerted to Sutcliffe’s actions by a previous school under the Prevent strategy, which targets individuals at risk of extremist behavior.
On the other side, the Department for Education supports the TRA’s decision, stating that Sutcliffe’s appeal is untimely and lacks merit. They criticized him for not adequately separating his professional teaching role from his activities as a preacher. The ongoing legal battle highlights the tensions between personal beliefs and professional responsibilities in educational settings.
