GENDER QUERIES As stated on our website: ‘Our ethos at Dulwich is one of equality, and our values are founded in respect and support for others.’ While conserving our identity as a community, it’s also worth questioning the changing definition of Dulwich College as a ‘Boys’ School’. Gender-queer pupils often find themselves at the centre of these discussions. Aristou Meehan (Year 12) sat down with the Senior Deputy, Fiona Angel, to discuss some of the questions about which those students feel the most curious
everyone needs supporting in different ways. But parents reasonably can be unsettled if schools do something without liaising with them. So, it’s just about having a conversation around how the family feel, how parents feel, about understanding the impact that this might have on them; because sometimes people might not perhaps have thought through all of the implications of gender change, just in terms of how they announce it, and how that might be received by their friends. It’s about making sure they get the right support if communication around that isn’t as positive as we would want. So, it’s not so much about seeking permission; it’s just the school hav- ing an understanding of where they are in their journey. Now, actually, the new DfE guidelines will require us to have conversations with parents before we do anything. AM: Thank you for sharing that so clearly. My next ques- tion is surrounding uniform. Once again, I know there’s only so much that school can do with this, but one of the students I talked to expressed that essentially the biggest problem for them around school uniform policies is that they find it extremely dysphoric wearing a suit every day, and they said that they understand the need for a level playing field but they do find it difficult. FA: Yes, I understand. We deliberately changed our uniform policy last year, so that if you’re unhappy, or some aspect of the uniform makes you feel uncomfort- able, we encourage you to talk to your head of school. We have had pupils in the past who haven’t worn blazers or ties, but who didn’t want to wear a skirt. They were happy with the uniform per se; we just nuanced it a bit to make them feel more comfortable. I have never been asked by a pupil, yet, if they can wear a skirt, but as with everything to do with all the transgender issues, it’s about supporting individuals and pupils in the way that they need. I’ve got no hard and fast thinking or rule on it, but we are certainly open to any question and all discussions. AM: That’s great, thank you. Some pupils I’ve inter- viewed were talking about things like jewellery and painted nails not being allowed in the Upper School, and
ARISTOU MEEHAN: Thank you so much for agreeing to have this conversation. I’ve talked in some detail to some students around the College, so the questions I will ask are based on feedback they gave – and I’ll quote some of their thoughts throughout our discussion. If we start with names: when asked about their experiences with teach- ers, the students said that they have been ‘pretty good’. They say that they feel ‘pretty fortunate’ that teachers have been able to switch to their preferred name quite quickly. However, the one thing that they did find, to quote one student, ‘a bit patronizing’ was the fact that they need permission from the Deputy Head in order to be called by their preferred name.
FIONA ANGEL: While of course working ac- cording to DfE guidelines, we have always quite deliberately not really had written policy on how we support transgender pupils. That is because we work very much on the basis that pupils are indi- viduals and every pupil is different – that
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THE ALLEYNIAN 712
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