Edinburgh's top state school tells pupils they are 'queer' if they do not know their sexual orientation
24 March 2023, 11:46 | Updated: 24 March 2023, 12:13
Children as young as 11 in Edinburgh's top state school have been taught they are "queer" if they are not yet sure of their sexual orientation.
Pupils at Boroughmuir High School have also been told there are three biological sexes.
But backlash from parents has prompted a school review of a presentation on gender and sex that is presented to first year secondary school students.
One presentation at the school told pupils that "queer" is a term "many people use when they are not sure what their sexual or romantic orientation is".
It also teaches children they are born as "one of three things, male, female or intersex" and "this is your biological sex," The Telegraph reports.
Pupils are also urged to refer to their fellow students as "they" if they are unsure what gender they identify as.
One parent at the school described the material as "nonsense".
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Meanwhile, staff have been told to avoid terms such as mother, brother and sister to avoid trans pupils as part of the school's "gender neutral language guide" at another school, Wick High.
It comes after one of the leading contenders to take over from Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister, Kate Forbes, said she had been told by parents that their kids were confused about their gender after school.
Boroughmuir High said the presentation had made from "a number of different resources" and was now under review, Edinburgh Council said.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Highland Council, which runs Wick High, said: "Highland schools follow national guidance regarding equality and diversity, the gender neutral language guide recently introduced at Wick High School provides flexibility in how the school recognises, supports and manages the needs of all pupils."
