East Sussex teacher calls pupil's opinion 'despicable' after classmate's claim she 'identifies as a cat'

The teacher also said she would report the student to school leaders.

The student was also told she would no longer welcome at the school by the teacher if she continued to express her view on the subject.

The row was captured in a recording, which was sent to the Observer and widely shared on social media.

The recording at Rye College begins with the teacher reprimanding the student, saying: “How dare you? You just really upset someone, saying things like (you) should be in an asylum.”

In response, the girl said: “I didn't say that, I just said if they want to identify as a cow or something, then they are genuinely unwell, and they're crazy.”

The teacher then said the student was ‘questioning’ her classmate’s ‘identity’ before saying: “Where did you get this idea from that there are only two genders?”

The girl said it was her opinion and added: “If I can respect their opinion, can't they respect mine?”

The teacher said: “Gender is not linked to the parts that you were born with, gender is about how you identify, which is what I said right from the very beginning of the lesson. There is actually three biological sexes because you can be born with male and female body parts or hormones.

“In terms of gender there are lots of genders - there is transgender, there is agender, who are people who don’t believe that they have a gender at all.”

The debate became heated when the girl and some classmates disagreed.

The teacher said: “Cisgender [where identity corresponds with the sex registered at birth] is not necessarily the way to be. You are talking about the fact that cisgender is the norm, that you identify with the sexual organ you were born with, that’s basically what you’re saying, which is really despicable.

"Why do you think we have so many problems in the world with homophobia?”

In the recording, the students said their mothers would agree with them, which the teacher labelled as ‘sad’.

The teacher then said: “You are confusing sex and gender. If you don’t like it you need to go to a different school. I am reporting you to (senior staff), you need to have a proper educational conversation about equality, diversity and inclusion because I’m not having that expressed in my lesson.”

In the recording the girl defended herself by saying she was being respectful, but added she felt she needed to ask her classmate ‘how can you identify as a cat, when you are girl?'

The argument took place in a class on life education, where students were told that ‘who you want to be and how you identify is up to you’.

Rye College is a member of the Aquinas Church of England Education Trust, a group of 11 schools.

A spokesperson for Rye College and the Aquinas Trust, said: "We are committed to offering our pupils an inclusive education. Teachers endeavour to ensure that pupils’ views are listened to, and encourage them to ask questions and engage in discussion. Teachers also aim to answer questions sensitively and honestly."We strive to uphold the highest standards across the school. We will be reviewing our processes and working with the relevant individuals to ensure such events do not take place in the future."